A Shift in the Stars
by daydreamer4
Summary: Luke and Lorelai try to stay together despite the presence of a certain ex. If you read TV Guide then you're spoiler-free, if not think before you click.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: I know I did a post-finale fic already, but then I heard that something that made me wonder what it might be like to have it go another way. Since I already did a long post-finale fic this one will be _much_ shorter and deal solely with Luke and Lorelai's relationship. I got kind of sidetracked by Emily/Richard and Rory last time. As always reviews are much appreciated! I don't own Gilmore Girls. It is the property of ASP and the WB. Watch the Frog...

* * *

_"Are you sure he's here for Rory," Luke bellowed bitterly. "Or is he here for you?"  
_  
Lorelai awoke with a start. She took a deep breath and oriented herself to her bedroom. It had been a dream. But upon further thought Lorelai remembered that it wasn't a dream. The last two months had actually happened and they culminated in a horrible relationship-ending fight with Luke.  
  
Two months ago Lorelai had found her daughter and a very-married Dean in a compromising situation. Rory had told her that she hated her and she ran outside. Lorelai ended up outside trying to comfort her weeping daughter, but it didn't seem to help. She had finally coaxed her into the house and into bed, but Lorelai didn't have a clue what to do.  
  
She should have gone back to the inn. She should have gone to inn and told Luke what happened. She should have, but she didn't. Instead Lorelai closed Rory's bedroom door when she finally fell asleep, picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.  
  
She waited as the phone rang. It had been so long since she called that she wasn't sure the number was still valid. However, as soon as the voice on the other end said hello she knew that she had the right person.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai said trying hard not to break down.  
  
"Lore?" Chris replied confused. "What's wrong? It's late. Is everything okay?"  
  
"No," Lorelai said forcefully. "No, nothing is okay. I know you have Sherry and the baby and everything, but we really need you here."  
  
Christopher could hear Lorelai's voice crack and he could tell that she was trying to hold back tears. Instantly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.  
  
"What do you need?" Chris asked.  
  
"Can you come here?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Sure," Christopher replied without hesitation. "I'll come out first thing tomorrow morning."  
  
"No," Lorelai said. "I mean can you come now?"  
  
"Now?" Christopher asked taken aback. "Lore it's almost 11:30 by the time I get to Stars Hollow--"  
  
"You know never mind," Lorelai replied. "I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."  
  
Christopher could hear the resentment in her tone and he knew that she felt like he was letting her down again.  
  
"I'm on my way," Christopher said.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. "We'll be at the house. I'll see you soon," Lorelai replied placing the phone down and finally letting the tears of frustration and anger spill gently out.  
  
Lorelai had just sat on the couch, dazed and perplexed by the events of the evening. Everything seemed so perfect, well not perfect, but happy and normal for the most part. Sure, her parents had stormed out and Jason had shown up, but things with Luke had taken a turn she hadn't expected. And who didn't laugh when Luke had finally retrieved Kirk from the community pool and walked him back to the inn naked and sopping wet? Lorelai had gone home to get Band-Aids and instead she found a shocking situation.  
  
Lorelai hadn't realized how long she had sat on the couch just thinking until she heard a light tap in the front door. She stood up and ran to the door opening it to see Christopher standing there. Lorelai flung herself through the doorway and wrapped her arms around Christopher holding him tightly.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai mumbled. "I'm so glad you're here."  
  
"Lorelai what happened? Is Rory hurt? Are you okay? Is it your parents?" Chris asked worried and confused as he returned Lorelai's embrace.  
  
Lorelai finally released her grip and moved so Christopher could enter the house. "Rory's asleep," Lorelai said quietly as she closed the door behind him.  
  
"Lorelai please tell me what happened," Chris whispered. "You scared the hell out of me and I raced all the way here."  
  
"It's Rory," Lorelai said leading him to the living room. "I don't know what to do Chris. This is one of those times when I need someone. I mean, you know I'm Wonder Woman, but I just...I'm...I don't know what to do," the tell-tale tears began to form once again.  
  
"You and Rory had a fight," Christopher replied knowingly. He put a supportive hand over Lorelai's. "Well if she's here sleeping she didn't run away so it couldn't have been too bad."  
  
Lorelai looked up and gave him a look. "You have no idea how bad it is," Lorelai replied. "I came home from the inn. We're having this run through for friends and family and I needed Band-Aids and my camera so I came home. Rory was here getting CDs, or so I thought," Lorelai chuckled ruefully.  
  
"What happened?" Christopher prodded.  
  
"So I came downstairs and Rory came out of her room. She had this guilty look and then Dean came out of her room," Lorelai said.  
  
"Dean her ex-boyfriend?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "So he left really quickly, but the second I saw him I knew. I just knew it. I couldn't even look at him. I couldn't even look at Rory," Lorelai told him.  
  
"Wait are you telling me that he and Rory," Christopher made a gesture with his hand that Lorelai supposed meant slept together.  
  
"Yes," she replied sullenly.  
  
"Wow," Christopher said standing up. "I mean...wow. She's 19 though. We should be glad she wasn't like us right? And Dean seemed like a pretty nice guy when I met him. Why do I feel like I want to kill him? Is this some sort of fatherly instinct? God, now I know what your Dad must have felt like when he found out that we...you know," Christopher babbled as he paced back and forth.  
  
"Chris, there's something you are so out of the loop on in all this," Lorelai said trying to talk him back to reality.  
  
"Out of the loop?" he asked sitting back down.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Look you haven't been around lately. Rory and I haven't seen you in what, a year?"  
  
"I'm sorry about that Lore, really I am," Christopher started to apologize.  
  
"Really not the time," Lorelai said putting up a hand to stop him. Suddenly Lorelai wasn't weepy she was forceful.  
  
"Okay, sorry," he replied lowering his head slightly. "So what don't I know?"  
  
"Dean got married," Lorelai said matter-of-factly.  
  
"What?" Christopher spit out.  
  
"He got married about six months ago. From what I could tell things weren't going well, but I didn't even think Rory spoke to him regularly," Lorelai was telling him.  
  
Christopher was up off the sofa again pacing, this time frantically. "So he's married. Currently married. He has a wife at home?" Christopher asked. Lorelai nodded in response.  
  
"Remember how I said I had the urge to kill him before? That was when I thought he was a good guy. Who the hell does this kid think he is? I can't believe this," Christopher said louder.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai said standing up and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "I know how you feel. Believe me I do, but the problem right now is Rory."  
  
"Is she okay?" he said looking Lorelai in the eye.  
  
"She's okay, I guess," Lorelai replied. "It was so bizarre. She seemed, I don't know, she seemed happy about it. She was so adamant that Dean was great and his marriage was over. I tried to tell her that she was wrong, that she was the other woman and then she told me she hated me for ruining it for her," Lorelai admitted to him.  
  
"She didn't mean that Lore," he replied firmly.  
  
"Maybe not, but it sure felt like it," Lorelai confessed.  
  
"She was just upset," Christopher said. "I mean having sex for the first time is a big deal. She probably didn't want to think about the reality or the consequences of it. Oh man, the consequences, Lore were they—"  
  
"They were safe," Lorelai replied defeated. "Don't worry. The only good thing is that she isn't going to end up like we did."  
  
"Yeah, thankfully," Chris sighed.  
  
Lorelai and Christopher sat and talked for another hour before they realized how late it was. Lorelai walked downstairs with an extra blanket and pillow for Christopher when she heard a soft tap on the front door. She left Christopher to arrange the couch and she answered the door.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai said surprised.  
  
"Lorelai, where have you been?" Luke whispered urgently leaning into the foyer.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai said again putting her body between the doorway. She had this feeling that she shouldn't let him in the house. She put a light hand on his chest and ushered him out the front door. "I'm so sorry," Lorelai started to explain.  
  
"What's wrong?" Luke asked. "You look like you've been crying." Luke reached his hand and touched her face tracing the dried tears on her cheek.  
  
"I, uh, I have," Lorelai admitted. She took Luke's hand and pulled him to the step where they took a seat. "I can't believe I just left the inn like that. Something happened and I couldn't come back. It's like I forgot or something. Can you believe I forgot?"  
  
"What happened?" Luke asked again putting an arm around her shoulder.  
  
"I got into a fight with Rory," Lorelai told him. "It was...we fought and she got mad and I couldn't leave her so I had to stay."  
  
"What did you fight about? Is Rory okay?" Luke asked concerned.  
  
"She's okay for now," Lorelai told him. "I really can't say what we fought about though. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay," Luke replied pulling Lorelai closer to him. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm dealing," Lorelai scoffed. "I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'm sorry I worried you. I should have called or something. I was pretty upset for a while and it's like everything slipped my mind."  
  
"What can I do?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai looked at Luke. He was always there for her. He looked so sincere and concerned. She wanted to tell him that he could spin the Earth backwards on it's axis like Superman did to reverse time to save Lois Lane, but that obviously wouldn't happen. Lorelai almost forgot that Luke had probably been waiting around for her at the Dragonfly for the last three hours, worried.  
  
"Nothing," she finally replied glumly. "Thanks for the offer though. If you could do anything, believe me I'd tell you."  
  
"Okay," Luke conceded. "But you'll let me know if you think of anything?"  
  
"Yeah I will," Lorelai said. They sat there for a moment, Luke's arms around Lorelai, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," Lorelai said after a moment.  
  
"For what?" Luke asked surprised.  
  
"Well, before Kirk ran through the door we were kind of in the middle of something pretty important. Then you ran to get Kirk and I ran to get a camera and I just never came back. I don't want you to think that I didn't come back because of anything that happened with us," she explained.  
  
"It's okay. Although I can't say I don't appreciate you saying it," Luke admitted. "I sat there for a while thinking about where you were and I had this awful feeling you were avoiding me."  
  
"I'm not. I wasn't," Lorelai said pushing herself away from Luke to look him in the eyes. "What happened was new and definitely different and unexpected, but I'm not running away from it."  
  
"Good," Luke smiled at her. "Me neither."  
  
"But I do have a lot going on right now with Rory. I can't explain it and I'm sorry, but can we sort of put this thing with us on hold for a little while?" Lorelai saw Luke's face fall slightly and she added, "Just until I get things figured out with Rory."  
  
"Sure," Luke said trying to be supportive. He knew that Lorelai's relationship with Rory was the most important in her life and so he didn't try to persuade her to move forward with their relationship.  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai said sincerely.  
  
"Are you going back to the Dragonfly tonight? I can cover for you if you need to stay here," Luke offered.  
  
"Actually I should go back. Sookie and Michel will need my help in the morning," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Are you sure? I can cover for you, or stay here with Rory if you need me too," Luke tried again.  
  
"No," Lorelai said quickly. For some reason she felt compelled to keep Christopher's presence hidden from Luke. "She'll be fine for tonight. I wouldn't turn down you walking me back there though," Lorelai added giving him a small smile.  
  
Luke stood up. "I'd like that too," he replied as he extended his hand toward Lorelai. He helped her up from the step and started to walk off the porch.  
  
"Wait, I just have to grab something inside," Lorelai lied. She really needed to tell Christopher that she had to go back to the inn. She didn't want to go, but she felt a lot better knowing that he would be home when Rory woke.  
  
Luke waited while Lorelai made a quick dash to the front door. At that moment Christopher opened the front door and collided with Lorelai. She stumbled and he reached out to stop her fall.  
  
"You okay?" Christopher chuckled lightly.  
  
"Uh, yeah, no I'm good," Lorelai said quickly hoping that if she ushered Christopher inside Luke wouldn't notice him.  
  
"Christopher?" Luke said incredulous.  
  
Suddenly Luke felt like his world was crumbling around him. Once Lorelai realized Luke saw Christopher exiting her house in his pajamas she felt the same way.  
  
TBC 


	2. Revelations

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. It seems no one is happy about Christopher returning. I have to say I'm looking forward to it—the drama! Last time Luke came to Lorelai's house to find her. They talked and were about to head back to the inn when Christopher came out of the house. Luke wasn't exactly pleased. So as I continue I don't own Gilmore Girls. They are the property of ASP and the WB. Watch the Frog....

* * *

"Hi," Christopher said looking over Lorelai's shoulder at Luke.  
  
"Hey," Luke said recovering from the surprise of watching Christopher emerge from Lorelai's house at 3:30 in the morning.  
  
Luke scratched his head and walked back onto the porch. Lorelai had regained her balance and quickly shook off Christopher's help.  
  
"Uh, Luke, you remember Christopher," Lorelai said awkwardly.  
  
"Yeah," Luke said noncommittally. "Surprise visit?" Luke asked to no one in particular.  
  
"No, Lorelai called me actually," Christopher decided to jump in and address Luke's question.  
  
"Really?" Luke asked surprised. Lorelai had mentioned a fight with Rory, but he couldn't believe that she needed to call Christopher to come help her with the situation.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said jumping into the conversation. "I told you I had a fight with Rory and I called Christopher."  
  
"Don't you live in Boston?" Luke asked. "That's a pretty long drive."  
  
"Well my girls needed me so here I am," Christopher smiled his typical Christopher smile. It was the kind of smile that was smug, but cute, but irritating at the same time. Although Lorelai figured Luke wouldn't see the cute part of the smile, just the smug and irritating portion of it. The smile wasn't at all malicious, but Lorelai could tell that Luke would take it that way.  
  
"Right," Luke nodded.  
  
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before Luke decided to end it. "Well I'm gonna go back to the inn. I'll see you later," Luke said turning and walking off the porch. He had hoped to hear Lorelai's footsteps behind him, but he didn't.  
  
Lorelai watched in horror as Luke walked into the night. She was torn between wanting to be there for Rory, her duty to the inn and her newfound feelings for Luke. She made a quick decision.  
  
"Chris, I have to go back to the inn. I'm supposed to be there now. You'll be okay here tonight and you'll be here when Rory wakes up?" she said backing down the steps of the porch.  
  
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Christopher replied. "But Lore, what am I supposed to say to her?"  
  
"You're a smooth-talker," Lorelai said backing away more quickly. "You'll figure it out. I'm sorry, but I really have to get back to the inn. I'll see you both tomorrow as soon as I can get home."  
  
With that Lorelai turned on her heels and jogged up the street to catch up with Luke. He was walking quickly, never a good sign. His shoulders were tight and his fists were clenched.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai called softly. He continued to walk.  
  
"Luke," she tried again rushing up to him and taking his arm.  
  
"What?" he replied with a hint of irritation in voice.  
  
"Well I thought we were walking back together, but apparently you'd rather have me kidnapped by some weird organ-harvesting gang or abducted by aliens since you're walking so far ahead of me," she replied.  
  
Luke stopped walking and he turned to her. "I wasn't aware we were going anywhere together. I mean Christopher is at your house in the middle of night. He says you called him to come from Boston! Boston!" Luke said animatedly.  
  
"I told you I had a problem with Rory," Lorelai said sincerely trying to explain.  
  
"So instead of calling Sookie or Lane or me, the guy who was waiting for you at the inn, you called Christopher to come all the way from Boston?" Luke said confused.  
  
"He's her father Luke," Lorelai tried to get him to understand.  
  
"Yeah he is her father," Luke replied. "Her father who, as I recall, wasn't around all that much. Now all of sudden she needs him around?"  
  
"That isn't fair," Lorelai said simply. "Maybe he wasn't around when we needed him before, but Rory's going to need him now because she hates me."  
  
"Rory doesn't hate you," Luke replied dismissing her comment and turning to walk down the street again.  
  
"She does," Lorelai said. "She told me as much. She said she hated me for ruining it for her."  
  
Luke stopped walking and turned around again. "Ruining what?" Luke asked his resolve softening.  
  
"Ruining...what I ruined," Lorelai sighed. "Luke I want to tell you, really I do, but I can't."  
  
"But you can tell Christopher?" Luke inquired.  
  
"Yes, he's her Dad," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Good," Luke said giving a tiny nod and turning to walk down the street again.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai said rushing after him. "What is wrong with you? I'm sorry I can't tell you what happened and I'm sorry I can't explain why we need Chris around, but I just had an awful night and now you want to fight with me about it at 4 in the morning?"  
  
Luke stopped once again, but this time he sighed. Lorelai could see the tension drop from his shoulders.  
  
"No, I don't want to fight with you," Luke finally said. "I'm sorry, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. First I have to contend with Jason, who by the way, saw us earlier and finally left, then Kirk runs through town naked, then you disappear and I come to find you're with Christopher. I'm just a little..." Luke struggled to find the right words.  
  
"Let down, frustrated, confused, tired," Lorelai offered.  
  
"I'll take all the above," Luke sighed. They started to slowly walk down the street again. "I am sorry," Luke told her. "Obviously you've had a rough night and I'm not helping."  
  
"True," Lorelai agreed with a small grin. "But I'm sorry too. I should have called you but I was kind of out of it after what happened with Rory."  
  
"It'll be okay," Luke said trying to reassure her.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. She took Luke's hand and gently placed her fingers in between his. They finally made it back to the inn and they both retired to their respective rooms to catch a few precious hours of sleep.

* * *

The following afternoon Lorelai had finally checked every guest out and she left the Dragonfly in the hands of Michel and Sookie. She told Sookie she had a fight with Rory and she needed to take care of things at home. Lorelai yawned as she trudged the steps to the front door.  
  
"Hello," she called opening the door. "I'm home."  
  
Lorelai threw her bag on the floor by the door and walked into the kitchen. "Hello?" she called again.  
  
The back door opened and Christopher came into the kitchen.  
  
"Hey," Christopher said. "How was the run-through?"  
  
"It was fine," Lorelai replied. "Is Rory outside?"  
  
"Yeah," Christopher told her. She made a motion to get to the back door, but Christopher placed his body between the door and Lorelai.  
  
"Chris, I have to go talk to her," Lorelai said.  
  
"No, you don't," Christopher said taking her by the arms, turning her around and sitting her in the chair at the table.  
  
"Excuse me? I don't?" Lorelai replied sarcastically. "She's my daughter I think I know what she needs," Lorelai said attempting to stand again.  
  
"Like you knew she needed Dean?" Christopher hit below the belt.  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Lorelai said tired and irritated.  
  
"It means that she had this growing attraction to Dean and you didn't know about it so maybe you should listen to me when I say you shouldn't go out there," Christopher said pouring her a cup of coffee.  
  
"She doesn't want to see me?" Lorelai asked hurt.  
  
"Not right now," Christopher regretfully replied.  
  
This revelation shook Lorelai to the core. In her lifetime she never thought she'd see life through her mother's eyes, but suddenly she felt the pain of walking in Emily Gilmore's shoes and she didn't like it one bit. She sunk, defeated into the chair again.  
  
"She doesn't want to see me," Lorelai stated, as if she was trying to convince herself of this fact.  
  
"She's embarrassed Lore," Christopher said sitting next to her and patting her arm. "She was really embarrassed that I was here when she woke up. I think she was upset that you told me, but more than that, I think what you said might have sunk in and she's ashamed."  
  
"So ashamed she can't see me?" Lorelai asked. "I'm the Queen of Shame Christopher. I am the only daughter of a very blue-blood family and I got knocked up at 16! I think I know shame. I understand the shame spiral."  
  
"She doesn't know what to say," Christopher tried to make Lorelai feel better. The truth was that Rory hadn't been too keen on Christopher's presence either. It took him an hour of staring at her before she had remotely opened up about the previous night's events. In fact, he didn't think that he had gotten very out of her.  
  
"How about if she says anything? Anything that can make me understand what happened last night and why," Lorelai said bitterly to the door hoping Rory could hear her. "How about she made a mistake and doesn't hate me for telling her so. It's my job, I'm her mother."  
  
"I know," Christopher said. "She'll come around. I don't think she fully understands what happened yet Lore. I mean, how long was it before you realized you were pregnant, two months? You always said you knew you were pregnant, but you tried to pretend it wasn't happening. That's what Rory's doing now."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Lorelai said sitting back down overwhelmed. "I just can't believe this is happening," Lorelai said absently swirling the coffee around the rim of the cup.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Christopher agreed. "I can honestly say I never expected a call like the one you gave me last night. And I sure as hell didn't expect to hear what you told me once I got here," Christopher sighed leaning back in his chair.  
  
"What's she doing out there anyway?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"She was reading," Christopher said simply. "She's okay for now."  
  
"Good," Lorelai nodded sullenly.  
  
"So, new topic?" Christopher ventured.  
  
"Please," Lorelai replied gratefully.  
  
"What's going on with you and Luke?" Christopher asked point-blank.  
  
"What?" Lorelai tried to play it casual. For some reason talking to Christopher about her relationship with Luke and vice versa just seemed weird. It was like two worlds colliding and she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with the fallout.  
  
"You and Luke," Christopher ventured again. "I picked up a definite thing between you last night."  
  
"There was no thing," Lorelai shrugged, avoiding eye contact.  
  
"Lore?" Christopher prodded.  
  
"Well there might be a thing," she admitted. Christopher gave her a look. "Okay, there is a definite thing. But with everything going on with Rory right now whatever that thing is, it's definitely on hold."  
  
"Really?" Christopher replied. "So you and Luke were dating?"  
  
Lorelai felt uncomfortable. She stood up and walked to the sink to wash out her coffee cup. "No, we weren't dating," she said as she scrubbed. "Last night we realized that we might be more friendly than we were before and," Lorelai struggled to articulate her feelings on the matter. "And why do you care anyway? How are Sherry and the baby?"  
  
Lorelai was satisfied with her sudden change of subject to Christopher and his love life. She wasn't sure he would answer, but at least it came her a moment to figure out what she would tell him about Luke.  
  
"Georgia is great," Christopher said smiling. Lorelai thought she detected a hint of sadness in the smile, but it disappeared as soon as it materialized. "She's so big now. I can't believe how fast they grow up. I missed that with Rory."  
  
"Yeah, you did," Lorelai said sadly. They stayed for a moment in companionable silence, each dwelling on Rory. Christopher thinking about what he missed. Lorelai thinking about what happened last night.  
  
"Sherry and I are getting divorced," Christopher finally shared with Lorelai.  
  
"What?" Lorelai said taken aback.  
  
All of a sudden Christopher looked miserable. Lorelai put the cup she was diligently washing in the dish rack and she sat next to Christopher.  
  
"When did this happen?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"We separated about two months ago. We started divorce proceedings last week," Christopher told her. "We shouldn't have gotten married, you know that."  
  
"No," Lorelai replied. "I didn't know that."  
  
"Come on Lorelai, you were there," Christopher explained. "I went back to her because of Georgia. You know better than anyone that two people shouldn't get married because of a baby. In fact you were the one who told me that when we were 16."  
  
"But you've changed Christopher. You loved Sherry," she said.  
  
"Did I? The last time I was here I was willing to trade it all, the Boston apartment, Sherry, everything, just to be with Rory. Just to be with you."  
  
"But I was there when Sherry gave birth," Lorelai stuttered. "You were happy. You loved her. I saw it."  
  
Lorelai was getting the distinct feeling that Christopher had been fishing for information on Luke to figure out where he stood with Lorelai. She was flatter, but also uncomfortable. She silently hoped she was wrong about the signals she thought she had picked up on.  
  
"I was happy for a while," Christopher admitted. "But Sherry is a workaholic. She had very definite ideas about marriage and work and child rearing. She didn't just laugh because it felt good. She didn't have wild and crazy ideas about life. She's not fun like—"  
  
"Christopher please do not finish that sentence," Lorelai cut him off fearing that he would have ended it with 'like you.'  
  
"Okay I won't," Christopher replied appeasing her.  
  
After a moment of silence Christopher couldn't take it anymore. His relationship with Sherry was talked out, as was Rory's situation so he simply said, "So you and Luke?"

* * *

The next morning Lorelai grumpily plodded down the stairs and passed Christopher still sleeping on the couch. In spite of herself she grinned. She couldn't explain it, but something about Christopher being around made her feel content. The circumstances surrounding his presence certainly weren't ideal, but it was nice to know that he was there to help her through things with Rory.  
  
Rory had managed to successfully avoid Lorelai all day yesterday. Lorelai took a shower and Rory came inside and barricaded herself in her room. Lorelai got a phone call from Michel and Rory used that time to throw together a sandwich and go back into hiding.  
  
For her part, Lorelai didn't push her. Christopher had made it fairly clear that Rory wanted nothing to do with Lorelai at the present moment, but all of that was about to change.  
  
Lorelai entered the kitchen and found Rory sitting at the kitchen table, her feet curled up under her, two cups of coffee on the table. Rory looked up when Lorelai entered the kitchen and she leaned forward and lighted pushed the second cup of coffee toward her mother.  
  
"Peace offering?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded in response.  
  
"It's good to see you've climbed out of your spider hole. I'm glad you don't look quite as crusty as Saddam," Lorelai said taking a sip of the coffee.  
  
"Why did you call Dad?" Rory asked ignoring her mother's feeble attempt at humor.  
  
"We needed him here," Lorelai said simply.  
  
"I can't believe you told him what happened," Rory said.  
  
"Well, what was I supposed to do? You told me you hated me. I didn't know what to do. I had to call for reinforcements," Lorelai replied.  
  
"I'm sorry I said that," Rory said quietly. "I didn't mean it. I was just so confused and I didn't know what..." Rory started to break down. Lorelai had a horrible flashback to when she found her daughter in a crying heap on their front lawn. Reality had definitely started to set in.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said rubbing her daughter's back. "It'll be okay."  
  
"I messed up," Rory choked. "I'm so sorry Mom."  
  
"You did mess up sweetie, but I promise it'll be okay," Lorelai said.  
  
"How? How will it be okay? Dean is married!" Rory said trying to stop the tears from flowing.  
  
"I don't know how, but it will be. I'm not going to lie to you," Lorelai continued. "What you did with Dean was colossally stupid and it can never, ever happen again, but it will get better."  
  
"No, it's never going to happen again," Rory agreed. "I don't know why I thought it was okay. I just kept thinking that he was mine. I can't believe I could do something like that. I was lonely and confused and things just happened."  
  
"Well, we all make mistakes kid," Lorelai said. "Maybe you've been too sheltered. I mean you haven't made any big mistakes. Although after this one please wait a minimum of five years before another one."  
  
"I will," Rory nodded whipping her eyes.  
  
"So was your Dad helpful?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"It was weird that he knew what happened," Rory said, "I can't believe you told him."  
  
"Sorry, but I had too," Lorelai replied. "He needed to know so he could be there for you."  
  
"How long is he staying?" Rory asked finally regaining her composure.  
  
"As long as you want," Christopher said sleepily as he entered the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai turned in her chair and Rory looked up. They both smiled at Christopher as he poured himself a cup of coffee.  
  
"So, no chance you girls decided to make breakfast this morning, huh?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Not a chance," Lorelai smiled brightly.  
  
"So how about if we get something to eat then?" Christopher asked.  
  
"How about Luke's?" Rory asked. "I feel like I need a special helping of his chocolate chip pancakes this morning."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Christopher smiled at his daughter.  
  
Lorelai suddenly got that familiar upset stomach that she had started to grow accustomed to when Luke and Christopher being in the same room came up.  
  
"Mom?" Rory asked, as if she was waiting for her affirmative response to Luke's for breakfast.  
  
"If you feel up to it," Lorelai said.  
  
"I need to get out of the house," Rory replied.  
  
"Luke's it is," Lorelai forced a smile.  
  
TBC 


	3. Old reliable

_**Author's Note**:_ _Last time Christopher told Lorelai he was divorcing Sherry and Lorelai got the impression that Christopher still had feelings for her. Rory and Lorelai made up and they all decided to go to Luke's for his famous chocolate chip pancakes. I don't own Gilmore Girls. They are the property of ASP and the WB. Watch the Frog._

Luke walked through the diner and attended to the crowd of regulars, but this morning the diner was emptier than usual. Luke deduced that the people of Stars Hollow were still stuffed from the food they gorged on at the Dragonfly test run.  
  
Luke thought back to the test run and he smiled to himself. It was a smile of mixed emotion- happiness and regret. He was happy because the test run had gone so well. Lorelai had never been more excited about anything. She looked beautiful and she had a glow about her. Not that she didn't always have that special glow. The light in her eyes that seemed to show her youthful energy and her sprite-like spirit.  
  
Luke had also fondly remembered the kiss. The kisses, actually. He still couldn't believe what had come over him but in one instant he had the compulsion to kiss Lorelai, really kiss her. And for once in life he finally acted on impulse and he pulled her close and finally tasted the sweet lips he'd thought about for years. Much to his surprise, she initiated a second kiss and suddenly things clicked. For Luke it felt like what some people describe as phantom limb pain. The pain people can still feel after they've had a limb amputated. For years Luke had felt an ache where he supposed his heart should be. Kissing Lorelai stopped the ache and filled it with a hope and joy that he never knew existed.  
  
But oh the regret. The regret he felt when he thought of what he should have said when Lorelai asked to put things on hold. He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to tell her that they needed to move forward. He was sorry Rory was having a difficult time, but they had waited too long to keep whatever was between them on hold. But he didn't. Instead he resorted to old reliable Luke and agreed with her. He said he was fine with it when in reality he wasn't at all fine. Especially when he saw Christopher.  
  
Christopher was the bane of his existence. There was something about his smile. There was something about the way he proclaimed that 'his girls' needed him that made Luke territorial. He had wanted to ask him who taught Rory how to parallel park when she was 15. He had wanted to ask Christopher where he was when Lorelai's roof leaked and it needed to be repaired. But he didn't. He had really wanted to ask him who made their meals at least five times a week. But he couldn't. He was old reliable Luke. And old reliable Luke didn't rock the boat.  
  
Luke continued to busy himself with the tasks of the morning. Making coffee, wiping tables, running the register, but in the back of his mind he wondered when he might see Lorelai again. He didn't have to wonder much longer.  
  
Lorelai, Rory and Christopher came into the diner laughing and looking, to the casual observer, like a family. Lorelai's head was turned behind her when she entered the diner so she didn't see the brief specter of anguish in Luke's eyes. By the time she turned her attention to Luke he had blinked the pain away. Lorelai pointed to a table and Christopher and Rory obediently walked over to take a seat. Lorelai made a beeline to the counter.  
  
"Hey," she said brightly.  
  
"Hey," Luke replied.  
  
"So, I know Caesar usually does the cooking on Sundays, but Rory specifically asked for your special, fabulous, scrumptious chocolate chip pancakes," Lorelai said buttering him up.  
  
"Sure, no problem," Luke said fidgeting with the rag in his hand.  
  
"Good," Lorelai said. She leaned into the counter as if she wanted to say something private to Luke. "I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday. I know I said I would, but then things with Rory were so ugh that I didn't. So I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Luke said. He was ashamed to admit that he had waited for her call. When she didn't call he had all these strange thoughts about Lorelai and Christopher. He knew nothing could have happened because Rory was there and that was the only reason Christopher was even around. However, the imagination can play tricks on a person, depraved tricks.  
  
"So are things okay with you and Rory?" he asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lorelai said steeling a glance over to the table. Christopher and Rory were talking and it looked like they were having a good time. "Yesterday I was the Black Death, today I'm a Care Bear."  
  
Luke gave her a quizzical look.  
  
"You know, today she she's all friendly and loving, yesterday not so much," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Right," Luke placated her.  
  
"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I'm great," Luke lied. "How long is he gonna be around?" Luke nodded his head in Christopher's direction.  
  
"Oh I don't know," Lorelai suddenly got the picture. "He said he'd stay as long as Rory needed him around."  
  
"Well she looks pretty good right now," Luke ventured.  
  
"Yeah she does," Lorelai agreed. "But she has a long way to go."  
  
"Oh," Luke replied. "Well I better get in the back if Rory specifically requested my pancakes."  
  
"Oh, okay," Lorelai said dispirited. She had hoped to talk to Luke a little longer. She was hesitant to admit it to herself, but she missed him. It was ridiculous because it had only been a day since their kiss, but in that moment something clicked in Lorelai's head. She watched Luke turn and walk away when she remembered to add, "And don't forget—"  
  
"Bacon, hash browns and two blueberry muffins," Luke finished for her.  
  
"Right," she nodded with a small grin. She watched Luke walk into the kitchen and she turned to take a seat at the table.  
  
"Chocolate chip pancakes coming up," Lorelai smiled at Rory.  
  
"Thanks Mom," Rory said.  
  
"So how are things going here? It looked like you two were catching up," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, I was just telling Rory about work and Boston and Georgia," Christopher told her.  
  
"I kept meaning to get to Boston to see you more often. I think the last time I saw Georgia was Easter," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah," Christopher agreed. "Well she knows you. Every time she walks past your picture she points and says Rory. It's really cute," Christopher informed her.  
  
"Oh, that's so cute," Rory said excited. "I really have to see her soon."  
  
Just as Rory was finishing her thought Luke came to the table with platefuls of pancakes, bacon, hash browns, sausage and more. With Caesar's help they finally piled everything in the table, including a pitcher of orange juice.  
  
"There you go," Luke said gesturing in presentation.  
  
Christopher looked confused. "We didn't order yet," he said to no one in particular.  
  
"Well Luke knows what we like," Rory said digging into her stack of pancakes.  
  
"True, although the orange juice is a mystery," Lorelai added looking at Luke.  
  
"You need orange juice," Luke said simply. "It helps the immune system."  
  
"Well thank you for caring, but our immune systems are just fine. They run on coffee and chocolate milk," Lorelai told him.  
  
"And today they can run on orange juice," Luke smiled.  
  
Lorelai crinkled up her nose and gave in by pouring Rory a class of orange juice from the carafe.  
  
"Okay," Luke said satisfied. "If you need anything else, let me know." He turned to walk back to the counter.  
  
"What? He won't just instinctively know when you need something? The bat signal won't go up?" Christopher mumbled snidely.  
  
Luke heard his comment and stopped dead in his tracks. Lorelai shot Christopher a look and glanced at Luke to find he was just about to turn around. Heading him off at the pass she quickly jumped up from her chair, planted a firm hand on Luke's shoulder and steered him toward the store room.  
  
"Excuse us a minute," Lorelai said hurriedly as they walked away.  
  
Lorelai led Luke into the storeroom and shut the door behind them. Neither of them spoke for a moment, but Lorelai could tell Luke was fuming. It was a simple, if not rude comment, but Lorelai had a feeling that Luke's reaction had a lot more to do with pride and territory than anything else.  
  
"Christopher was out of line with that comment," Lorelai finally broke the silence.  
  
"Yeah well he's entitled to his opinion," Luke replied bitterly crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"You don't have to like it," Lorelai said inching closer to Luke.  
  
"You're right I don't," Luke agreed.  
  
"And I get why you don't like Christopher," Lorelai said still advancing.  
  
"I like him just fine," Luke said gazing at the floor.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said finally standing within arms-length of Luke. She took her hand and placed it on his chin, forcing him to look her in eyes. "I know you don't like him and it's okay. He's Rory's Dad and I know that's probably a little weird for you."  
  
"Please, I didn't think a stork dropped Rory down your chimney. I've seen Christopher before. He's not a bad guy," Luke tried to lie.  
  
"I know, but before when you saw him things with us were different," Lorelai replied. Now it was her turn to avert her gaze and avoid a serious talk. 'Why couldn't it be like the night at the Dragonfly?' she thought to herself. That night they were able to lay their cards on the table and they didn't fear repercussion. They didn't fear what their feelings might mean.  
  
"They're no different now," Luke said.  
  
His comment shocked Lorelai. "They're not?" she asked dumbfounded.  
  
"No, they're the same as before. You said the other night that we shouldn't move forward. I thought we were on hold," Luke told her simply. The way he saw things, on hold meant that they would just go on like before and ignore everything that had happened between them from the wedding on.  
  
"I didn't think on hold meant just go back to how it was before," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Well then what does on hold mean?" Luke asked confused.  
  
"I thought it meant that we just wouldn't go any farther than what already happened," Lorelai replied cryptically.  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Luke asked perplexed. It was his turn to be confused.  
  
Lorelai, normally calm and in control, now seemed flustered and flighty. She couldn't understand why it was so hard for her to tell Luke that she wanted to continue what they started with the dating and the kissing, but anything beyond that was too much for the moment. She stood there looking at his gentle, honest face and she knew that her inability to tell him what she meant was hurting him. It was the last thing she wanted to do.  
  
Before Lorelai knew what she was doing she had advanced toward him even closer than before. She grabbed his face with her hand and pulled his lips toward her own. Luke instinctively advanced forward and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Their bodies were pressed tightly against each other as their lips connected in the heat of passion. Lorelai threw both arms around Luke's neck and they were lost in each other.  
  
Amid the fervor of their kiss they hadn't realized that they were moving. Lorelai was walking backward and Luke forward until he absently pushed Lorelai against the shelves in the storeroom. Her back was pressed again the cold metal and it felt good as she kissed Luke hungrily. Luke realized that he had backed her into the shelving and immediately pulled back.  
  
"Sorry," he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to—"  
  
Before he could finished his thought Lorelai had pulled him forward again to finish what they had started. Moments later, breathless, they parted and just stared at each other.  
  
"Wow, okay that wasn't what I was expecting," Luke said as he picked up his baseball cap from the floor and arranged it on his head.  
  
"Me either," Lorelai admitted.  
  
"You started it," Luke replied like a five-year-old.  
  
"No, that isn't what I meant," Lorelai said. "I mean, it's what I meant, but...ahhhh," she sighed. "You get me so flustered I can't even form a complete sentence!" Lorelai let out in frustration at her inability to communicate.  
  
"I do?" Luke smiled at her. He was obviously pleased with his affect on her. At one time Luke thought that Lorelai was the only one with the bewitching power between them.  
  
Lorelai reached forward and slapped him playfully. "Yes, okay? Are you happy that I turn into a babbling idiot when I'm around you?"  
  
"Maybe," Luke gave her that same wicked grin. He sat down on the edge of the table in the middle of the room.  
  
"Thanks a lot!" she exclaimed good-naturedly.  
  
"So can I ask what that was about?" Luke ventured.  
  
"Well Kirk interrupted us the last time so I owed you one," she said sitting next to him.  
  
"Who would've thought I'd actually thank Kirk for running naked through the town?" Luke chuckled.  
  
"But seriously, when I said I thought we should put things on hold I didn't mean go back to how things were. I meant we should do the date thing that we talked about. And I meant that this kissing we have going is really great too. But anything beyond that right now is just too much," Lorelai explained finally.  
  
"Lorelai," Luke said quietly, "I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want to go out with you, share a meal with you, just be with you."  
  
"You're not asking for marriage now, but get a few drinks in ya and you're the Elizabeth Taylor of Stars Hollow," Lorelai elbowed him playfully in the stomach laughing.  
  
"Ha, ha," he turned his face to her and said good-naturedly.  
  
They stared at each other for moment and Luke quickly leaned in and gave Lorelai a soft lingering kiss.  
  
"So feel better now?" Lorelai asked him placing her hand over his.  
  
"Much," Luke admitted.  
  
Luke was just about to lean in again when the door to the storeroom opened and Christopher came walking in. Lorelai and Luke, behaving like guilty teenagers dropped each other's hands and stood up quickly.  
  
"Lore we need to go," Christopher said plainly.  
  
"Is Rory okay?" Lorelai said rushing over to Christopher.  
  
"We just need to go," Christopher said. Lorelai followed Christopher out of the storeroom leaving Luke alone to think about what had happened. Even though she'd made an abrupt exit Luke was confident that she was ready for whatever was to happen between them.  
  
"Chris, what's going on?" Lorelai whispered as they walked back out front.  
  
"Dean paged Rory and then we saw Lindsey outside the diner. I think it's too much for her. She's got a lot of guilt right now," Christopher said.  
  
"Got it," Lorelai nodded.  
  
Christopher turned to look at Lorelai again. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah I'm great, why?" Lorelai replied.  
  
"I don't know, you look flushed or something. It's almost like you have a rash," he told her.  
  
"Where?" Lorelai asked, stopping.  
  
"It's not bad, but your face and your neck look really red," Christopher said.  
  
Lorelai knew immediately why she was red. She was going to have to have a talk with Luke about the length of his manly stubble the next time they spoke.  
  
"I'm fine. Let's just go help Rory," Lorelai said and she walked back into the diner with Christopher.  
  
TBC 


	4. Decisions

_Author's Note: Sorry this update took longer than usual. I had a crazy week and mild writer's block so I hope this lives up to expectation. Thanks for the reviews as well! Unfortunately I still don't own Gilmore Girls..._  
  
Lorelai, Christopher and Rory hastily entered their house and locked the door. For some strange reason it gave Lorelai comfort to know that the door was secured behind them.  
  
"Hon, are you okay?" Lorelai asked as they entered the living room.  
  
"Yeah I'm okay I guess," Rory said.  
  
"So what happened exactly?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well I was talking to Dad and then Dean paged me," Rory started to explain. "And he said he wanted to talk, but then Lindsey walked by the diner and all of sudden everything seemed so...clandestine and wrong. I mean obviously Dean waited until she left the house to call me."  
  
Rory looked like she might break down and Christopher placed a protective arm around her shoulder.  
  
"He said things were over between them, but if they were over why did he wait until she was gone to page me? You were so right Mom," Rory said blinking back tears of hurt and shame.  
  
"Sweetie," Lorelai said rushing over to Rory and hugging her tightly. "You knew this was going to be hard. I think the realization of what happened is starting sink in and it's not going to be easy, but I'm here for you and your Dad is here. Anything we can do for you, we'll do."  
  
"You got it," Christopher added rubbing Rory's back lightly.  
  
Rory shrugged away from her parents and nodded. "Thanks," she said wiping her eyes. "I think I just need to have some time to myself right now."  
  
"Are you sure about that?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'll just be in my room for a little while," Rory said making a hasty exit.  
  
"Well we'll be out here if you need us," Lorelai called as Rory closed the door to her room.  
  
Lorelai sighed, dropped her purse on the table and sank into the couch. "This isn't good," Lorelai told Christopher.  
  
"No, it's not," Christopher agreed sitting next to her. "But we knew she was going to have to face Dean sometime. I have a hard time believing that the whole town hasn't found out about this yet."  
  
"Yeah, I have to admit I'm surprised myself," Lorelai confessed. "I wish we could protect her from it, but I don't know what we can do?"  
  
"Well, we're here if she needs us," Christopher said. "I think that's the most important thing. She'll tell us what she needs."  
  
"When did you get to be the Yoda of parenting?" Lorelai asked with a small smile.  
  
"I don't know," Christopher admitted, baffled himself. "I just really want to be able to help Rory when and if she needs it."  
  
"I know you do," Lorelai said patting Christopher's hand. "She knows it too."  
  
"I hope so," Christopher replied. After a moment he added, "So it looked like I interrupted something between you and Luke when I barged in the storeroom. I'm sorry if I did," Christopher said genuinely. Lorelai's face flushed slightly thinking about what happened between her and Luke in the storeroom. She hoped Christopher wouldn't notice. Lorelai didn't know what it was about being with Luke, but things seemed new and different. She felt like she was in sixth grade again. Hesitant and embarrassed to be seen with a boy.  
  
"Oh, it's okay," Lorelai stammered. "We, uh, we were discussing some things, but we were done and, you know, things are good. So you don't need to worry."  
  
"Good," Christopher chuckled at her.  
  
"What?" Lorelai asked, questioning his laugh.  
  
"Nothing," Christopher said. "You just seem guilty of something that's all. Like that time Emily found me hiding in your closet after I supposedly left hours ago."  
  
"Oh I remember that," Lorelai exclaimed. "The look of horror on her face was priceless. I remember thinking, 'This is it! She's going to stroke out on us.' She was so mad," Lorelai remembered.  
  
"And you were so nervous," Christopher reminisced. "You were stuttering and trying to explain that you didn't know I was in the closet."  
  
Christopher laughed as he recalled that fateful evening. "I have a vivid memory of a whirlwind of black taffeta streaking toward me and pulling me to my feet," he laughed.  
  
"Yeah but she forgave you," Lorelai said. "My mother has always had a soft spot for you. God knows why!"  
  
"It's my effervescent charm," Christopher told her knowledgeably.  
  
"That must be it," Lorelai mocked him.  
  
"What? I'm quite charming and you know it," he retorted bumping her shoulder lightly.  
  
Lorelai looked at him and she knew she couldn't deny it. There was something about Christopher. No matter how he disappointed her, or how he screwed up, she couldn't help but be drawn to him every time he reappeared. Granted, this time it was Lorelai who had brought him back into their lives, but she couldn't deny that somewhere, deep down in her heart there was still that familiar soft spot for him.  
  
Lorelai just gave him a small grin. "So how's work?" she asked changing the subject.  
  
"It's good," Christopher replied with a smile that conveyed a sense of disappointment that the previous topic had been completely dropped. "I'm traveling a lot more, which I love, but it takes me away from Georgia and I don't like that so much. But with everything going with me and Sherry I think it's almost better that I'm not around as much."  
  
"Does Sherry know you're here?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I called her this morning," he replied. "She's fine with it. We're getting divorced so it's not like she's gonna miss me."  
  
"But your daughter might," Lorelai said.  
  
"Sherry was supposed to be going to Vermont to visit her family for a week so I wasn't going to see Georgia this week anyway," Christopher replied. He seemed sad at the prospect of being separated from his other daughter.  
  
"Oh, okay," Lorelai replied.  
  
Christopher and Lorelai had turned on an old movie when Rory entered the living room.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said looking up. "Sit down," Lorelai said scooting away from Christopher to make room for Rory to sit between them.  
  
"You okay?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Yeah," Rory said as she slumped onto the couch between her parents. "I called Dean."  
  
Lorelai was surprised by her daughter's declaration. "Wow, you called Dean? What did you say?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I told him that I saw Lindsey and I thought it was weird that he called me when she was out of the house because I thought things weren't working for them," Rory replied.  
  
"What did he say?" Christopher asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.  
  
"He said that things weren't good, but that he was going to leave her," Rory said. They sat for a moment and contemplated this information.  
  
"For me," Rory added.  
  
There was a collective intake of breath from the group. Lorelai and Christopher exchanged a look that spoke volumes.  
  
"I told him I thought that would be a mistake," Rory continued. "I told him what happened was a wrong and that he should just forget it."  
  
"You did?" Lorelai asked surprised.  
  
"Yeah, it's the truth," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai wrapped her arm around Rory once again. "I think you're right," she affirmed. "But what did Dean say?"  
  
"He was upset," Rory said. "But then he finally understood, I think."  
  
"So you two are going to avoid each other?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Like the plague," Rory replied.  
  
"I think that's the best thing for everyone," Christopher said. "I know it'll probably hurt to see him around, but I think staying away from each other would be the best thing."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Rory said. "So that's why I called Grandma."  
  
"You called Grandma?" Lorelai asked shocked.  
  
"Yeah. Remember when she suggested that I go to Europe with her? Well I kind of decided to go with her," Rory explained.  
  
"You did?" Lorelai asked almost speechless.  
  
"Yeah," Rory replied. "I just feel like it would be better if I got away for a while. It might be easier for me and Dean and everybody."  
  
"So you called my mother and told you wanted to go to Europe with her before you told me?" Lorelai asked slightly offended.  
  
"It wasn't like that Mom," Rory tried to reason. "I just made a decision and I had to call her before I changed my mind."  
  
"No, fine, it's...fine," Lorelai responded feebly. "So what did Grandma say?"  
  
"She said she'd start making the arrangements and call me back," Rory said.  
  
"Oh, okay," Lorelai didn't know what to say next.  
  
"How long are you going? When do you leave?" Christopher interjected. Lorelai was grateful that Chris was there to help because she was, for once in her life, at a loss to respond.  
  
"I don't know yet," Rory said. "Grandma was going to call her travel agent. I think she said we'd be gone for three weeks," Rory replied.  
  
"Wow, three weeks with Emily," Christopher stated, not really expecting an answer, just stating a fact.  
  
Rory turned to her mother. "Mom you're not mad are you?" she asked. "I didn't mean to go behind your back. I just really need to get away."  
  
Lorelai looked at Rory. Although she was irritated that Rory had made such a big decision without telling her, she couldn't actually tell Rory she was upset. The poor girl had so much going on that Lorelai didn't have the heart to dump her issues on Rory. After all, she was running away from her problems, as was Emily. It was the Gilmore way. Big scary life-changing decisions or problems weren't met head-on. They were swept under the rug and avoided until they died down. Lorelai had run when she abandoned her wedding to Max. Rory had run to Washington after she kissed Jess. This was just the way they did things. Right or wrong, it was the way things were.  
  
"No, I'm not mad," Lorelai lied. "I wish you would have talked to me before you called my mother, but I understand."  
  
"Okay," Rory said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well I'm gonna go dig out the suitcases and wait for Grandma to call back," Rory said standing.  
  
"I'll help you," Christopher said following Rory.  
  
Lorelai sat on the couch and thought for a moment. Rory had made possibly the biggest mistake of her life and now she was running away, with all people, Emily Gilmore. Life sure had a funny way of coming back to bite her in the ass.

* * *

Later that evening Luke and Lorelai walked into the bookshop where they were showing a screening of the original Manchurian Candidate. Emily had called Rory and told her that they had plane tickets to go to Paris in two weeks. They had both hoped to leave earlier, but it seemed that they would have to make due with waiting.  
  
Rory had insisted that Lorelai go out with Luke and not postpone their relationship on account of her situation. Normally Lorelai never would have left Rory, but Christopher was there and they had planned a knockdown, drag-out night of Scrabble so Lorelai felt more at ease.  
  
Luke was pleasantly surprised to hear Lorelai's voice on the other end of the phone when he was closing the diner. He hadn't been able to get her off his mind all day after their little storeroom tryst. She reminded him that they had plans to go to a movie and Luke was happy she decided to go.  
  
They walked down to their seats and Luke offered to go get Lorelai snacks. She sat waiting for Luke and was slightly disappointed to see Babette and Morey walk in. Obviously Luke and Lorelai weren't trying to hide whatever was going on between them, but Lorelai had secretly hoped that they could keep it casual for a while. If Babette found out she'd have Luke and Lorelai married with a kid by the next morning.  
  
"Lorelai," Babette waved as she and Morey took a seat three rows in front of her.  
  
"Hi Babette," Lorelai smiled.  
  
"Where's Rory? You're not here alone are ya? You can sit with me and Morey ya know," Babette offered pleasantly.  
  
"Uh, no I'm fine Babette," Lorelai replied. "Thanks though."  
  
"Oh doll it's a shame. You're too young to be here alone. Is Rory out tonight? Are you sure you don't want to sit with us? A beautiful girl like you shouldn't have to sit..." Babette trailed off.  
  
Lorelai glanced behind her and noticed that Luke had returned with an armful of refreshments and he took a seat beside Lorelai. Babette gawked in amazement and suddenly her lips started to curl into the faintest of smiles.  
  
"Hi Babette, Morey," Luke said congenially.  
  
"Luke," Babette said smiling. "You're here with Lorelai?"  
  
"Uh, yeah we're just gonna watch the movie," Luke tried to play it cool.  
  
"Really?" Babette said with a hint of excitement in her tone. "Well that's just great. You two kids should watch the movie. Movies are a beautiful thing for two people to share, right Morey?"  
  
"Sure babe," Morey replied agreeably.  
  
"I'll just turn around and let you two enjoy the movie," Babette smiled and turned quickly.  
  
Luke leaned over and whispered to Lorelai, "So how long before Kirk is selling T-shirts that say 'Luke and Lorelai saw a movie together?'  
  
"I'd say by the time we get out of here we'll have our very own personalized souvenir of the evening," Lorelai whispered back with a grin.  
  
"I was glad you called," Luke admitted. "I wasn't sure you'd still want to do this with everything you have going on."  
  
"Well Christopher is with Rory so I didn't feel so bad leaving," Lorelai told him. "Besides, I was kind of looking forward to this."  
  
Luke looked at her and grinned. "Me too," he replied.  
  
Just then the lights dimmed and the screen flickered with the old black and white titles. "I love this movie," Lorelai said. "No offense to Meryl, but nobody plays a psychotic mother like Angela Lansbury, with the exception of Joan Crawford," Lorelai informed Luke.  
  
"So I'm guessing the movie rules you set up at home also don't apply to you when in public?" Luke whispered to her.  
  
Instead of responding Lorelai simply picked up a handful of popcorn and threw it at Luke playfully. Then she turned her attention back to the movie screen, although a small smile escaped her lips and Luke had to grin along with her.  
  
After the movie was over Luke and Lorelai hurriedly escaped the bookshop in order to avoid Babette's prying eyes. They quickly walked to the diner and Luke unlocked the door and escorted Lorelai in with the palm of his hand on her back.  
  
"I'm assuming you want coffee," he said.  
  
"You know me too well," she smiled as Luke walked around the counter and started the coffee.  
  
"So did you like the movie?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah it was pretty good. It had just the right amount of intrigue and suspense," he replied.  
  
"As if you'd know," Lorelai chuckled. "How many movies would you estimate you've seen in your lifetime anyway?"  
  
Luke squinted in a way that made Lorelai realize just how cute he was when he was concentrating. "I'd say 20, tops," he finally replied.  
  
"20?" Lorelai said aghast. "20 movies in your lifetime?"  
  
"Yeah," Luke said turning to grab her coffee cup.  
  
"Luke, that's less than one movie a year!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I told you I haven't really seen any movies," Luke replied placing the cup on the counter and filling it.  
  
"I'm in shock," Lorelai replied. "I am in shock that you've seen less than 20 movies in your whole life. 20! And you've seen three of them with me!"  
  
Luke chuckled at her disbelief. "Well it gives you more options at the video store," he offered.  
  
"You're darn right it does," Lorelai smiled sipping her coffee.  
  
"Oh jeez," Luke replied replacing the coffeepot on the warmer. "Well how many times have you played softball in your lifetime?"  
  
"Is this is a trick question?" Lorelai replied with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"No," Luke replied.  
  
"Well if you count the times I was forced to play in gym class, I'd say five times," Lorelai said.  
  
"Five times?" Luke replied equally as surprised by her answer.  
  
"Yeah, so? Pregnancy is the best doctor's note for getting out of gym," Lorelai said matter-of-factly.  
  
"But didn't you ever play Little League, T-ball, anything?" he asked surprised.  
  
"Do I look like a recreational sport kind of girl?" Lorelai asked. "Plus, joining a team requires a parental time commitment. My parents were too busy with their social functions to sign me up for any of that. But I have to say, it's probably one of the brighter spots in my childhood."  
  
"You're playing," Luke said simply.  
  
"Excuse me? I'm playing what?" Lorelai replied.  
  
"You know I play every Saturday in the park. It's casual and we're always looking for more players so you should play on my team," Luke said.  
  
"Oh no," Lorelai replied. "I don't do baseball, with the running and the bending and the hand-eye coordination," Lorelai responded.  
  
"If I can be a movie guy you can be a baseball girl," Luke reminded her of his earlier declaration.  
  
"Do I look like Sporty Spice to you?" Lorelai protested.  
  
Luke didn't respond this time he simply gave her a look. A look which spoke volumes. A look that said 'please compromise on the baseball if you ever want me to sit through another movie again.'  
  
"Fine," Lorelai agreed grudgingly.  
  
"Good," Luke replied trying to suppress his elation. "I'm sure I'll see you before Saturday, but I'll come get you at 10 a.m. Saturday morning."  
  
"I don't need an escort I know where the field is," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Yeah, but I want to make sure you show up," Luke told her.  
  
"One date in and you already don't trust me," Lorelai said. Then with a smile she added, "You know me too well."  
  
Lorelai finished her coffee and Luke decided the gentlemanly thing to do was walk Lorelai home. They set off into the spring evening and walked in companionable silence. Side by side they strolled until Luke summoned his courage and took Lorelai's hand in his. She seemed surprised by the sudden touch but she looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled.  
  
"So did I mention I was glad you decided to go out with me tonight?" Luke asked as they neared Lorelai's house.  
  
"You did mention it I think," Lorelai played coy.  
  
"Good, I'm glad because it's true," Luke told her.  
  
"Well I'm glad we went out too," Lorelai smiled.  
  
They ascended the porch steps and then the awkward end of date moment occurred. They had kissed several times, but it was always spur of the moment. The end of the date marked a very definite specific protocol in terms of kissing.  
  
Luke was suddenly nervous. He was almost as nervous as the night he kissed Lorelai on the porch of the Dragonfly. He knew she wasn't going to turn down his advances, but something made him uneasy. He was pretty sure it might be the fact that Christopher was few feet inside the house. Luke had this horrible premonition of him opening the door and finding them in a clinch.  
  
Lorelai stood there waiting for Luke to lean in and she silently wondered what was taking him so long. It wasn't as if they hadn't kissed before. In fact they had kissed several times. She couldn't figure it out and frankly she was tired of waiting so she decided to initiate the goodnight kiss.  
  
Lorelai leaned in placed her lips on Luke's. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he responded by circling his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. Their lips met with all the heat and passion of before and Lorelai finally had to pull back and catch her breath.  
  
"Wow," she whispered under her breath. She was caught off guard by the power of kissing Luke.  
  
Luke grinned and caught his breath as well. "I couldn't have put it better myself," he told her. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
"I'm sure you will," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Okay, good night then," Luke said with a little wave as he walked off the porch and into the darkness.  
  
Lorelai watched Luke walk away and sighed. She was suddenly very glad that she decided not to completely stop what was happening with Luke. In the midst of her parent's separation, Rory's affair and the chaotic nature of opening the inn, Luke was the island of calm on a sea of commotion.  
  
TBC 


	5. The Old Ball Game

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Since you had to wait so long for the last chapter I come bearing this one today. I just hope my next update will be as fast! I don't own Gilmore Girls..._  
  
Early the next Saturday morning Lorelai dragged herself out of bed. She couldn't remember how she'd finally agreed to play softball with Luke at the ungodly hour of 9 a.m. on a Saturday, but she knew she must have agreed somehow because here she was throwing on sweat pants and preparing to play. Lorelai had tried to guilty Rory into playing with her, but she couldn't be persuaded. However, Rory and Christopher did offer to watch Lorelai make a fool of herself, which she found oddly comforting. Luke assured Lorelai that they weren't playing Dean's softball team and so Rory agreed to go.  
  
Lorelai still hadn't told Luke what happened between her and Rory or between Rory and Dean for that matter. Somehow she felt like it was a family matter and unfortunately, as much as Luke already felt like family, he simply wasn't. Christopher was. And he had been very helpful and supportive over the past week. He had managed to maintain his work schedule, including the long drive between Boston and Stars Hollow, while continuing to stay with Rory and Lorelai.  
  
This fact was not lost on the Stars Hollow grapevine. Everyone knew about Luke and Lorelai's movie date and Taylor could have sworn he saw them kissing while Luke was closing the diner, but Christopher was staying with her. Something didn't seem to add up and everyone was trying to figure it out. Of course because of the secretive nature of Christopher's visit it was nearly impossible to explain. They finally decided on telling everyone that Christopher was going through a divorce, which was true, just not completely forthright. Everyone seemed somewhat satisfied with this explanation but every once in a while Luke was certain he saw people giving him those looks. The ones that said, 'Sorry buddy, just when we thought it was your chance--he comes to town.' Luke couldn't honestly say he disagreed.  
  
Though both Luke and Lorelai had agreed to take things slow and not get too wrapped up in the newness and emotion of what was going on between them Luke knew he wasn't living up to his end of the bargain. He had been emotionally invested in Lorelai for years and now that he could actually touch her the way he'd always wanted and kiss her the way she deserved to be kissed he wasn't sure he could ever go back to being 'just friends.'  
  
That brought up thoughts of Christopher. Luke knew that something had happened between Rory and Lorelai and he knew that somehow Christopher was involved, but it was excruciating to not know exactly what happened. Over the past week Luke felt closer to Lorelai than ever, but every time he dropped her off at home he felt threatened because he was leaving her with Christopher. Luke knew that Lorelai had definite feelings for him, but he worried that her feeling for Christopher ran much deeper than those she had for him.  
  
Lorelai, Christopher and Rory emerged from the house and looked everything like the atypical all-American family. They walked over to the baseball fields garnering inquisitive looks from passers-by, but after five days of these looks they were used to it. They finally descended on the field and Lorelai saw Luke unpacking a bag of equipment.  
  
"Okay, I gotta go join my team," Lorelai told Rory and Christopher. "And remember, no laughing," she warned them as she bounced away.  
  
"Yeah, right," Christopher nudged Rory as they sat down.  
  
"She doesn't even have a glove, how can we not make fun of that," Rory agreed.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said skipping over to Luke.  
  
"Hey," he replied.  
  
Everything in his body wanted to lean in and kiss her, but he didn't. They weren't hiding their relationship, but they weren't exactly on the Public Display of Affection bandwagon either.  
  
"You seem awfully happy this morning," he commented unpacking a few bats from the bag.  
  
"Well I get to see you, so happiness naturally follows," she smiled a mischievous grin.  
  
"And?" Luke asked knowing that her mirth couldn't possibly be the sight of him.  
  
"And what?" she acted offended.  
  
"And why else are you so happy?" he asked again throwing a few softballs on the ground.  
  
"Well I know I said I'd play and I fully intended to commit to that promise," she started.  
  
"Here it comes," Luke said standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"But I looked high and low and I could not find a baseball glove at my house," she continued. "Shocker, I know. So I called Sookie and Lane and no one seems to have a spare so I guess this means..."  
  
"That you should have called me," Luke said smiling and reaching into the bag. He produced a baseball glove that looked brand new and held it up in front of her.  
  
"Uh, right," Lorelai responded deflated. "But this glove has rubber bands all over it," she pointed out.  
  
"Well it's new," Luke explained taking off the rubber bands. "I bought it for you a few days ago when you said you'd join my team. I kind of figured you wouldn't have a glove so I bought you one."  
  
"You're a thoughtful one," Lorelai commented. "But if you need rubber bands to hold it together I don't see how it will do me any good," she attempted to dissuade him again.  
  
"The rubber bands are holding the ball inside the glove. I was breaking it in for you," he said handing her the glove.  
  
"Great," Lorelai said taking the glove and trying it on. "Oh, hey," she said putting a hand on Luke's forearm. "This is for my left hand."  
  
"So?" Luke asked.  
  
"So I'm right handed," Lorelai explained. "I can't play, sorry," she said sadly although her face displayed nothing but delight.  
  
"Well you wear the glove on your left hand so you can throw with your right hand," Luke explained walking behind her and peeling the glove from her right hand and pulling it securely on her left.  
  
"Right," Lorelai said. "I knew that."  
  
Christopher and Rory watched the exchange between Luke and Lorelai. "She'll do anything to get out of playing today won't she?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Yep," Rory agreed. "Mom is the queen of excuses, but I don't think Luke is gonna let her off that easy."  
  
"Well the 'this glove is for the wrong hand' bit was a valiant effort," Christopher observed.  
  
"She tries," Rory smiled.  
  
"So, your Mom and Luke," Christopher started. "Are you okay with that?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Rory replied. "We've known Luke forever and he's always loved her. She seems happy."  
  
"And are you happy they're together?" Christopher asked again.  
  
"Yeah," Rory said. "It's a little weird I guess," Rory admitted. "But Mom's seems happy. She was really happy before all this stuff with Dean happened. She was excited that Luke had sort of made a move."  
  
"How long ago was this?" Christopher continued on his information-gathering mission.  
  
"I don't know a few weeks ago," Rory said. "They went to this wedding together and then Mom said things were different between them. Does it bother you?"  
  
"What?" Christopher stalled because he was taken aback by her straightforward question.  
  
"Does it bother you to see Mom with Luke? You and Sherry are getting a divorce so I just wondered," Rory explained. "Sorry, should I not have asked that? Is it too personal?"  
  
"Rory you're my daughter," Christopher said. "If you can't ask me a question like that then who can?"  
  
"Mom?" Rory tried.  
  
"Yeah, well her too," Christopher admitted. "It doesn't bother me to see her with Luke. He seems like a nice guy and I just want her to be happy. Your Mom wanted to try things with us and I left. I married Sherry. I guess you could say knowing the way things are now I will always wonder what could have happened if I'd stayed, but I don't begrudge your Mom happiness with Luke, or anyone else."  
  
"How very mature of you," Rory kidded him.  
  
"Yeah being a grown up is a bitch," he sighed with a smile.  
  
"Tell me about it," Rory replied.  
  
Christopher put an arm around his daughter's shoulder and gave her a light hug as the game started.

* * *

The fifth inning rolled around and Lorelai was up to bat again. She had struck out the first two times she was up to bat and no one had much confidence in her ability to bring home the runners on second and third, especially since there were already two outs. She stepped up to the plate and held the bat the way Luke had taught her. She took a practice swing and she was ready to hit.  
  
"Strike one," Kirk said.  
  
"Strike?" Lorelai said turning to face him. "That was so high Abraham Lincoln couldn't have hit it?"  
  
"Abraham Lincoln?" Luke muttered.  
  
"Lincoln?" Christopher and Rory exchanged looked.  
  
"I couldn't think of anyone tall okay?" Lorelai yelled.  
  
"Actually it probably would have been a ball if you were Lincoln, since he's tall he would have a different strike zone," Kirk explained. "But for your size, weight and posture I'm sticking with a strike."  
  
"Hey are we gonna have a dissertation on the strike zone or are we gonna play?" someone yelled from the outfield. Lorelai couldn't tell who it was, but she made a mental note to have a talk with them later.  
  
"Come on Lore," Christopher yelled from the stands. He and Rory clapped their hands together for support. "You can do it Mom!" Rory chimed in.  
  
Lorelai stepped back into the batter's box and took another practice swing. She was offended to notice that the in field had moved in. She suddenly felt very sorry for all the Bad News Bears. The pitcher threw the ball and Lorelai took a hard swing and connected with nothing but air.  
  
"Strike two," Kirk yelled.  
  
"Okay, it's okay," Luke yelled clapping his hands together. "Just keep your eye on the ball. We've got some runners out there who'd like to get home. You can do it."  
  
Something about the way Luke spoke made Lorelai feel very confident. The pitcher wound up and the ball sailed over the plate as Lorelai swung the bat. Suddenly she heard a very unfamiliar sound. It was the sound of the bat and ball connecting. She stood there and watched the ball sail over the in field and into the outfield passed whoever taunted her before. She just stood staring at the ball she hit rolling farther out into the field.  
  
But then something broke her reverie. It the sound of Luke, Christopher, Rory, everyone on the bench and the crowd of about 20 that had gathered to watch the game.  
  
"Run!" they shouted. "Go, run! Don't stand there!"  
  
Lorelai realized that she had never gotten to the running the bases portion of baseball before. Well theoretically she had run the bases. In fact, she had gotten to third base by the time she 14, but that was all metaphorical. This was real and she started to run. She got to first and the base coach waved her on to second. She could still hear the chants of the crowd compelling her to run and she ran toward third base. She was so high on adrenaline that she didn't hear the third base coach tell her to stop and she rounded the bag and ran for home. Unfortunately the catcher was there, in the baseline waiting, with the ball. Lorelai tried to turn back but then they got her in a pickle. Finally she decided to make a break for home and she ran, throwing her body into the catcher to get to home plate, where she was triumphantly tagged out.  
  
The game didn't last much longer given that Lorelai was covered in dirt and had a giant bruise on her upper thigh from colliding with the catcher. She was grateful that Luke had thought to pack an ice pack in that never-ending bag he had brought.  
  
"You did great today," Luke said sitting next to her on the bench as everyone packed up to go home.  
  
"Really?" Lorelai asked. "You're not just saying that?"  
  
"I'd pick you for my team any day. I think we need to talk about listening to your base coach, but other than that you were terrific," he told her.  
  
"Thanks," she grinned shyly. "I may never move again after tonight, but it was worth it."  
  
Rory and Christopher walked over to the dug out to congratulate the team on their victory, which was all due to Lorelai's hit. Even though she was tagged out she still brought in the crucial winning run.  
  
"Hey, how's the leg?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Purple," Lorelai answered moving her ice pack. "Although I hear that purple is this year's pink so I should be good to go."  
  
Lorelai stood up from the bench and stumbled slightly. Luke extended an arm for her to lean on, but Christopher beat him to it. The way Luke saw it he swooped in between them to help her. In actuality Christopher was in a better position to lean in and he simply helped her when he saw her stumble. Luke stepped back and started packing up his bag.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai smiled at Christopher.  
  
"You walked here," Luke stated. "I can run back and get my truck to take you back home," he offered once his bag was packed.  
  
"No, it's fine," Lorelai waved him off. "It's just a bruise. A purple, mind- numbingly painful bruise, but I'll be fine. See, this is what physical fitness gets you," she kidded him.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked again.  
  
"I'll be fine," she reiterated. "You need to get back to the diner and I need to get to the inn so scoot," she told him.  
  
Christopher and Rory seemed to be engaged in their own conversation and Luke took advantage of it by sidling closer to Lorelai.  
  
"Thanks for playing today," he said.  
  
"You're welcome," she grinned. "Although you owe me for this bruise. I think I see West Side Story in your future."  
  
"Great," he rolled his eyes, but his mouth suppressed a grin. "I'm looking forward to it."  
  
"I knew you would be," she smiled. Lorelai glanced around the park and noted that most people had left and those that were around weren't looking. She took the opportunity to lean in and give Luke a light peck on the lips. "I'll talk to you later," she said leaning back.  
  
Luke gave her a small grin and said, "Okay. Are you sure you don't need me to bring my truck back to take you home?"  
  
"I'm sure," she said pushing him away. "Now go cook up some grub for this here town," she told him in a fake Southern accent.  
  
"Alright," he replied still unsure, but he picked up his bag and turned to leave. "Bye Rory, Christopher."  
  
"See ya Luke," Rory called.  
  
"Bye," Christopher mumbled.  
  
"So ya ready?" Christopher asked Lorelai once Luke had walked a few feet away.  
  
"As I'll ever be," she replied.  
  
Lorelai took a few steps and winced. "Ah, baseball was a bad idea before work," she said as she limped slowly across the field.  
  
"Come here," Christopher said turning to her and opening his arms.  
  
"What?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Christopher didn't give her a chance to protest. He simply gathered Lorelai in his arms and gently picked her up careful to avoid the deep purple welt that had formed on her thigh.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai screamed. "Put me down. You can't make it all the way back to the house like this," Lorelai said.  
  
"Is that a dare?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Cause it sounded like a dare," he told Rory. "What do I get if I make it?"  
  
"You're incorrigible," Lorelai said as Christopher picked up his pace with her firmly encased in his arms.  
  
"Come on," he chided her. "What do I get?"  
  
"A home-cooked meal," Lorelai said absently.  
  
"Cooked by?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Yours truly," she replied.  
  
"Hmm, sounds more like a punishment than a reward," he stated.  
  
"Oh shut up," she said playfully hitting him. "What do you want then?" she challenged him.  
  
"I'll tell you when I win," he smirked and he started running with Lorelai in his arms.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai yelled, "You're gonna drop me!" She was putting up a fight but she was laughing the entire way. Christopher started laughing too and then Rory giggled while she chased her parents through the park.  
  
Luke was walking back to the diner when he heard yelps of delight that reminded him very much of Lorelai. He had the urge to turn around and when he finally did he suddenly wished he hadn't. There, approximately 100 yards away he saw them. Lorelai, Christopher and Rory cavorting like the family they always should have been. Lorelai in Christopher's arms her arms around his neck. Luke knew he shouldn't be jealous, but deep in the fathoms of his heart he knew that he'd never be Christopher and he wasn't sure how he could reconcile that fact, to himself or to Lorelai.  
  
Luke hung his head and propped the equipment bag a little higher on his shoulder as he made his way back to the diner. He tried to remember Lorelai's kisses and reassure himself of the feelings he was certain she had for him. He took comfort in those memories, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if Christopher remembered Lorelai's kisses like he did. Then Luke wondered if maybe he wasn't fighting Christopher for Lorelai's affection, but himself and his own insecurities. These thoughts plagued him as he made his way back to the diner and returned to a day of cooking for the people of Stars Hollow.  
  
TBC 


	6. Issues

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. Please read and review this one as well! I don't own Gilmore Girls._  
  
Time flew by and before Lorelai knew it Rory was getting on a plane to go to Europe with her mother. They had spent the day packing and Lorelai had to admit she was jealous that Rory was able to take five pairs of shoes with her overseas. Their previous trip to Europe revolved around backpacking and there was simply no room for extra shoes and Lorelai had to make due with sneakers and flip-flops.  
  
"So, are you sure you're ready for this?" Lorelai asked as she folded a T-shirt and placed it in the suitcase.  
  
"Yeah, I am," Rory affirmed.  
  
"You're sure? Two weeks alone with my mother is a long time," Lorelai said. "A long time. I might have to start calculating your actual age in dog years after this trip."  
  
"Mom," Rory scolded her mother. "I'll be fine. Grandma needs to get away and I want to get away. It's the best thing for everybody."  
  
"I know," Lorelai replied grudgingly. "I'm gonna miss you though. I thought we were gonna have the summer together and by the time you get back we'll only have a few weeks."  
  
"I'm sorry," Rory said genuinely. "But you have Luke, he'll keep you occupied."  
  
"Yes, he just might," Lorelai replied with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Ew, gross," Rory said throwing a pair of shorts at Lorelai. "Look, I'm okay with the idea of you and Luke dating, but please don't talk about dirty things with Luke. I'm begging you."  
  
Lorelai laughed at her daughter's obvious disgust over the thought of her and Luke doing "dirty" things made her laugh.  
  
"Well Luke and I aren't doing dirty things," Lorelai informed her. "We're taking things slow."  
  
"Right," Rory replied in disbelief.  
  
"What do you mean? We're not rushing into anything," Lorelai defended them.  
  
"Mom, you and Luke have been dancing around this non-relationship for years. Not to mention that seeing him every night for the past two weeks doesn't seem slow to me," Rory said.  
  
"Uh I haven't seen him everyday," Lorelai replied. "I had to work Thursday night," she reminded her daughter.  
  
"But you met him for lunch," Rory reasoned.  
  
"So?" Lorelai asked dumbly. Rory responded with a pointed look and Lorelai sighed.  
  
"So maybe we've been spending more time together. But it's not like we didn't see each other practically every day before," she explained.  
  
"Hey, I haven't been neglecting you have I?" Lorelai suddenly asked.  
  
"No, why?" Rory replied.  
  
"Well I know I've been busy with Luke, but I feel like we've worked out everything with Dean and the little fight we had. We did right? We're okay?"  
  
"Yeah, we're great," Rory sincerely responded. "I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Dad too and that was good. He's really changed."  
  
"Yeah he has," Lorelai agreed.  
  
"He seems more grown up. Like he's my friend, but he's got this official Dad vibe now," Rory continued.  
  
"Yeah, he does, doesn't he?" Lorelai replied. She thought about how Christopher had really come through for them this time. He'd been so attentive and understanding with Rory and he'd helped Lorelai deal with the feelings that she had failed as a parent.  
  
"Yeah," Rory said sitting next to Lorelai on her bed. "So he probably won't be here when I get back then," Rory said.  
  
"Well I wouldn't think so hun," Lorelai replied. "He really has no reason to be here if you're not around."  
  
"I know," Rory agreed hesitantly.  
  
"What's that about?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Huh?" Rory replied.  
  
"You seemed like you thought there was a chance he'd be here when you got back," Lorelai told her.  
  
"I don't know," Rory replied sheepishly. "I kind of thought that maybe he might be."  
  
"Rory, why would he be here when you got back?" Lorelai asked. She stood up and zipped her daughter's suitcase.  
  
"Nothing," she replied. "He wouldn't be, it was stupid," Rory evaded.  
  
Suddenly Lorelai started to put the pieces together. More than anything in the world Rory had always wanted her parents together. Ever since Lorelai could remember Rory had wanted them to be a family. Did Rory actually think it might happen now?  
  
"Sweetie," Lorelai said walking over to her daughter and brushing her hair behind her ears. "I'm with Luke now. You know that right?"  
  
"Yeah," Rory said averting her eyes from her mother's gaze.  
  
"And I thought you were okay with that," Lorelai continued.  
  
"I am," Rory protested a little too forcefully.  
  
"So then why would Dad still be here when you get back?" Lorelai asked again.  
  
"I don't know," Rory let out. "He just seems like he's really changed and now there's no Sherry and he loves you Mom. I know he does," Rory informed her mother. "Seeing you with Luke has killed him."  
  
Lorelai was taken aback by Rory's full-blown honesty. "Rory," Lorelai sighed. "Your Dad and I are over. It doesn't matter if there's no Sherry because he had a choice to make and he chose her okay? He chose her over us."  
  
"Did you really want him to choose us over Sherry? Because if he chose us then you would have said he wasn't being responsible. So he chose Sherry and then you said he broke your heart," Rory was getting agitated.  
  
"Whoa, slow down," Lorelai said backing away from Rory. "Christopher had to go back to Sherry because I would never want her to feel like I felt when I had you. I was alone and scared and I had no one," Lorelai defended herself. "I wouldn't wish that on another woman."  
  
"But Dad wanted to marry you. He asked you and you said no. Twice," Rory added.  
  
"I know Rory," Lorelai sighed. "Jeez what do you want from me? I couldn't marry Christopher. He said he was ready, but he wasn't. I wasn't ready either. So would you be happy if we were divorced? Is that what you want? Divorced parents who hate each other? I loved him too much to screw it up like that," Lorelai admitted.  
  
Rory seemed to calm down. She stared at the floor for a moment before she sat on the bed again. Lorelai seemed to calm down and she walked over and sat next to her daughter.  
  
"I know you always wanted us to be a family," Lorelai finally spoke. "But we're already a family. We're just not a conventional one. I do love your Dad, but I think that ship has sailed. Have I really screwed you up?" Lorelai said.  
  
"What? No," Rory said suddenly. "I'm sorry. I just see how much he loves you and I know that deep down inside you love him too."  
  
"I do," Lorelai admitted. "But Rory, so much has happened. Things that can't be taken back."  
  
"You love Luke," Rory replied quietly.  
  
"I, uh, I don't know if I love Luke," Lorelai said. "I definitely have very strong feelings for Luke, but I'm just starting to realize what they are."  
  
"I'm sorry I upset you," Rory said. "I shouldn't have said anything."  
  
"Hey," Lorelai placed a firm hand on Rory's arm. "You should always say what you're thinking okay? Remember how we agreed to share our thoughts and feelings? We have to stick to that," Lorelai said recalling a chat they had after Rory slept with Dean.  
  
"I know," Rory replied. "I just don't want you to think that I don't like Luke or that I'm not happy for you. I want you to be happy."  
  
"Yeah and you want to be happy too," Lorelai said. "And deep down inside you've always wanted me and your Dad to be together."  
  
"I guess," Rory replied slightly embarrassed.  
  
"Rory, it's okay." Lorelai said. "I hate that I have to be one to tell you that it's not gonna happen, but I think we need to be honest."  
  
"I know," Rory said. "I'm gonna miss you Mom."  
  
"You bet you are," Lorelai agreed. "Especially after my mother drags you to every fashion show in Paris."  
  
Rory nodded her head in agreement and gave Lorelai a hug. They finished packing and when Christopher got home from work they all set off to the airport to meet Emily.

* * *

"So, Rory is gone for two weeks," Christopher said as they were driving back to Stars Hollow.  
  
"Yep," Lorelai agreed. "Two weeks with my mother. It sounds more like Nazi boot camp to me, but for some odd reason it seems to be the best thing for Rory."  
  
"She'll be fine," Christopher said driving.  
  
"Yeah she will," Lorelai agreed.  
  
They drove down the highway in silence. Christopher wanted to approach the subject of seeing Rory on a more regular basis. Lorelai wanted to question Christopher about what he had said to Rory to make her believe parents might have a chance of reconciliation. Neither was brave enough to speak and so they drove in silence, the sound of the wind whizzing through the windows. They never could agree on a radio station.  
  
Finally Lorelai decided she needed to talk things over with Christopher. "Hey," she said. "What have you said to Rory?"  
  
"About what?" Christopher asked.  
  
"About us," Lorelai replied.  
  
"There's an us?" Christopher replied with a smile.  
  
"Now is not the time for that smile," Lorelai stated. "What have you said?"  
  
"Lore, I wish I could help you but I don't know what you're talking about," he evaded.  
  
Lorelai shifted in her seat so that her torso was facing Christopher as he drove. "I'm talking about why Rory thinks you would be staying with me while she was gone. I'm talking about why she thought you might still be around when she got back. I'm talking about why she thought we might be together after her little European adventure," Lorelai told him.  
  
Christopher looked surprised. "I, I don't know," he stammered.  
  
"Chris," Lorelai said his name in a tone that he knew signified trouble. Big trouble.  
  
"I might have asked her some questions about you and Luke," Christopher said.  
  
"Some questions?" Lorelai urged him to continue.  
  
"I may have asked how long you two were together. I might have also said something about missing you," Christopher said. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink.  
  
"Chris, how could you do that?" Lorelai asked upset. "You know Rory has always had this idea of us being a family."  
  
"Well I can't say I blame her," Christopher replied with renewed confidence. "I've always liked that idea myself."  
  
Lorelai just stared at Christopher horrified. She didn't know what to say. It was one thing for Christopher to wish they could be a family, but it was quite another to push this idea on Rory.  
  
"I can't believe this," Lorelai muttered as she shifted back in her seat to face forward.  
  
"Why? Why can't you believe it?" It was Christopher's turn to get irritated. "We were finally gonna put everything to together Lore. We were finally gonna try the family thing. And then Sherry got pregnant and I had to go back to her, you know that," he said. "But it's over with Sherry now and I'm here and you're here and I want to know why we can't try this."  
  
"How about because I'm with Luke?" Lorelai shot back. "How about because when I found out Sherry was pregnant it broke my heart. How about because I had to stay at the hospital and watch her give birth to your daughter and you were happy?"  
  
"Well things change Lore. You know that better than anyone," Christopher replied. "Don't you ever wonder what it would be like? How great it could be with us and Rory together?" he asked in a hushed tone.  
  
"Sometimes," Lorelai admitted. "But that's over now. I don't think about it. And even if I did, I'm with Luke. I have feelings for Luke."  
  
"That's obvious," Christopher agreed. "But tell me this one thing. Why don't you think about us? Because it's out of the realm of possibility?"  
  
"No because it hurts too much to think about," Lorelai replied quickly without thinking. Once she realized what she said she tried to take it back, but Christopher wouldn't hear it.  
  
"Christopher, I'm with Luke now. It's that simple," she tried to tell him.  
  
"Fine. Tell me one more thing," he said. "Tell me that you love him and I'll drop you off and I'll leave you alone."  
  
Lorelai just shot him a look. "You know I can't do that," Lorelai said quietly. "Luke and I just started dating, I don't know what I feel for him yet."  
  
"You've known him for years," Christopher reasoned. "You don't already love him?"  
  
"Yes I love him," Lorelai replied. "Am I in love with him? I don't know, but I want to find out. I'm not gonna play games with him."  
  
At that moment Christopher pulled into Lorelai's driveway. They just sat in the car for a moment contemplating their discussion.  
  
"Look, I never told you what I wanted," Christopher said.  
  
"What?" Lorelai replied irritated.  
  
"You bet me that I couldn't carry you all the way home and I did," Christopher explained.  
  
"Your point being?" she asked.  
  
"My point being, I want to stay here for one more night. I want to stay and talk this out with you tonight. Make me understand why this can't work and I'll go. Just give me one night alone with you so we can talk this out."  
  
"There's nothing to talk out," she replied, knowing that she wasn't speaking the truth.  
  
"Lore," he said and gave her a look. It was his patented puppy dog look that said, 'Take pity on me. Look at how cute and innocent I am.'  
  
"Fine," she said. "Just tonight. We'll talk this out, but tomorrow you're on your way back to Boston."  
  
"Thanks," he said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai replied knowing that this decision might just be the worst one she'd ever made.

* * *

In order to live up to her bargain with Christopher Lorelai had to cancel plans with Luke for the evening. She thought it would be best if she told him she couldn't go out with him face to face. She opened the door to the diner and the few scant customers didn't seem to notice her presence, but Luke did. He looked up from the counter and grinned when he saw he walk in.  
  
"Hey," he smiled as she approached. "You're early."  
  
"Yeah," she replied.  
  
"So Rory and your Mom are on their way to Europe?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, two wild and crazy girls living it up overseas," she tried to smile. She didn't want to break their date.  
  
She most especially didn't want to explain why she had to break their date and yet, here she was, proceeding anyway.  
  
"Hey, can I talk to you alone for minute?" she asked seriously.  
  
Luke's pleasant demeanor vanished when he realized that something seemed wrong. "Sure," he said putting down the coffeepot he had in his hand. "Come on," he said taking her upstairs to his apartment.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked concerned after he closed the door to his apartment.  
  
"I have to cancel our plans for tonight," she said.  
  
"Oh, okay," Luke replied sounding disappointed. He felt slightly let down, but they had seen each other everyday for the last two weeks and so he didn't want to seem to put out. "Do you have to work?"  
  
"No," Lorelai replied. She still wasn't sure how she was going to tell him that she was spending the evening with Christopher. Part of her didn't want to tell him. Part of her screamed to lie and tell him that she did have to work. But the other part couldn't lie. Not to Luke.  
  
"Oh. Alright," Luke replied dejected. She didn't have to work she just didn't want to be with him. It made sense. It was only his nightmare from hell come true.  
  
"No," she said sensing his disappointment. "It's not that I don't want to go out with you tonight. I just can't."  
  
"Something came up?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied.  
  
"An emergency?" he asked and suddenly the strangest sense of déjà vu overcame him.  
  
"No, no emergency," Lorelai said. "I have to talk to Christopher tonight. We're having some issues with Rory and we need to talk them out before he leaves."  
  
Luke just nodded his head quickly. It wasn't a good sign. "So Christopher is sticking around," Luke surmised.  
  
"Just for tonight," Lorelai said. "He leaves tomorrow morning, bright and early."  
  
"Hmm," was all Luke said.  
  
Lorelai could tell Luke wasn't at all pleased with this turn of events. She didn't know what to do or say to make him understand. She wasn't even sure she understood her unreasonable pull to Christopher.  
  
"So Rory is gone," Luke finally spoke. "And Christopher is staying."  
  
"Right, but just for the night," Lorelai reminded him.  
  
"I thought he was here for Rory," Luke asked.  
  
"He is—was," she replied. "We just have some issues to discuss. That's all I promise," she reiterated.  
  
"The issues you have to discuss, they have anything to do with the thing that happened that you won't tell me about?" he asked.  
  
"Sort of," Lorelai lied.  
  
"So he's staying for the night and Rory is gone?" he asked a third time just to be sure.  
  
"Yes, but it's innocent. We just have some things to discuss and then he'll be gone," Lorelai willed him to understand.  
  
"Please nothing is innocent when it comes to Christopher," Luke spat.  
  
"Excuse me?" Lorelai mood shifted as quickly as Luke's had.  
  
"He still loves you," Luke told her. His words stung. It wasn't that she didn't already suspect it, but the fact that Luke also picked up on it made her feel guilty.  
  
"He has some unresolved feelings, maybe, but he doesn't love me," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Lorelai I'm not a stupid man. I've seen him look at you. He looks at you like I've looked at you for the last four years!"  
  
Lorelai was astonished by Luke's reply. Luke had always been observant, but how was it that everyone seemed to know how Christopher felt for the last two weeks and she was clueless?  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.  
  
"It means he loves you and he wants you back," Luke said. "You said he was here for Rory, but is that true? Is he really here for Rory or is he here for you?" Luke bellowed.  
  
"He's here for Rory," Lorelai shouted back.  
  
"Then why is he staying at your house tonight?" Luke asked exasperated.  
  
"He wants to talk," Lorelai said.  
  
"He wants to talk about getting back together with you," Luke mumbled unaware that he had completely hit on the precise reason for Christopher's stay.  
  
"Look I don't have to explain myself to you," Lorelai said. "I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions. We're not even--I don't even know what this is between us. We're supposed to be taking this slow and you're acting all domineering, king of the jungle on me," Lorelai replied.  
  
"I didn't ask you to explain yourself," Luke said. "I'm sorry if I'm not taking this as well as you'd hoped. I just find it odd that you had a fight with Rory and you called him. You called the same guy that let you down over and over again," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai flinched. Luke was getting too personal for her liking now. So what if she called Christopher? He's Rory's father and she needed help.  
  
"That isn't any of your business," Lorelai shot at him. "We needed Christopher around and I can't explain why, but we did. You're just upset because I can't tell you why we need him around."  
  
"No, that's not why I'm upset," Luke replied eerily calm. "I'm upset because I thought we were on the right track. I ignored his looks and I let it go when he'd wait for me to leave before he'd throw his arm around you or carry you home, but I can't pretend that I understand what the hell you're thinking. Everyone in this town has been giving me the 'Poor Luke' look for weeks and I tried to ignore it, but I can't do it anymore," he ranted.  
  
"So what does that mean?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"It means I can't do it," Luke said forcefully. "I waited. Four years I bided my time waiting for the moment when you'd get it and I thought you finally understood how I felt about you. And maybe you do, but you don't feel the same way about me," he told her. "If you felt for me what I feel for you, you'd never ask me to sit by and watch this happen."  
  
"Watch what happen?" Lorelai asked her voice full of attitude.  
  
"Watch him take you away from me," Luke said simply.  
  
"That's not what's happening," Lorelai said bitterly.  
  
"We'll see," Luke said. With that he maneuvered around her and reached for the door to go downstairs.  
  
"So that's it?" Lorelai stopped him. "If he stays you're done with us?"  
  
"I guess so," Luke hoarsely choked the words out.  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip to keep the tears she felt welling at bay. "That's great," she said. "Just great," she whispered as she reached passed him and opened the door.  
  
Luke just stood in his apartment and watched Lorelai's back as she descended the stairs.  
  
TBC  
  
_A/N: JavaJunkies please don't hate me. I always have a plan. I'm not quite sure what my plan is yet, but trust me there will be one! :)_


	7. Fights, kisses and lurking in the shadow...

_Author's Note: Wow, thanks for the reviews and for reserving the tar and feathers for the moment! I still don't own Gilmore Girls..._

Lorelai trudged home utterly deflated. She still wasn't quite sure she could explain what had happened at Luke's. She knew he would be upset that Christopher was staying another night, but he should trust her. Maybe he did. At this point she couldn't be sure.

What was obvious, however, was that he didn't trust Christopher. Lorelai couldn't say she blamed him. He was right not to trust him. Christopher had practically told her he wanted another chance. What hurt Lorelai the most was what Luke had said. It was something about Christopher looking at her like he had for the last four years. Hearing that nearly broke her heart.

She finally made it home and slammed the door behind her. She threw her purse on the table and stomped into the kitchen where she found Christopher making dinner.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Don't," Lorelai said. "Don't 'hey' me with that smile."

"Okay," Christopher replied hesitantly unsure of what he had done.

"Why do you always do this?" Lorelai let out her frustration.

"What am I doing?" Christopher asked defensively.

"This," she said throwing out her hands. "Every time you drop back into our lives I end up hurting Luke. The first time I stood him up when I said I'd help him. The second time I was so wrapped up in you that I didn't care that I had a huge fight with him. This time I just hurt him and he doesn't deserve that."

"Hey, wait a minute," Christopher said putting down the spatula he was using to cook his dinner. "I never asked you to hurt Luke. You made those decisions on your own."

"Please, like I had much of choice on whether you stayed," Lorelai snapped.

"You could have told me to leave, but you said I could stay for one more night and talk this out with you," he replied matter-of-factly.

"You would have left if I'd told you to?" she asked in disbelief.

"Probably not," Christopher said. "But that's not the point. The point is that you're the one who chose to be with me and not Luke. You're also the one who called me here to help out with Rory."

"Yeah, well you're her Dad," Lorelai scoffed.

"That's right I am," he said approaching her. "But I'm not too proud to admit that I'm not exactly Father of the Year. I haven't been around as much as I should have been. I was really happy that you called me-- that you asked me to come help out and be a part of all that Rory is going through, but I have to wonder why you called me at all."

"I told you, you're Rory's Dad," Lorelai said shrinking away from him as he approached.

"That's it? I'm her Dad? Why didn't you call Luke? Or if not Luke, why not call Sookie or Lane or any one of the other mental patients in this town who love and adore both you and Rory?" he shot at her.

"I don't know," Lorelai sighed.

"I think you do," Christopher pressed her.

"Fine, I do," Lorelai replied weakly. "I called you because you're family and I called you because you're the only other person who could possibly understand. We messed up, together, a hundred and ten years ago and I figured you'd be the only other person who would have a clue what Rory felt like, or what I felt like. Are you happy now?" she exploded.

"Yes," Christopher replied. "But you know I'm sure Luke has made mistakes. I'm sure he'd have been able to understand."

"Right," Lorelai snorted. "Look Chris you don't understand my relationship with Luke. First of all, the night all this started Luke and I kissed for the very first time. I didn't want to dump this on him."

"That's fair," Christopher agreed.

"And second, Luke got a divorce not that long ago," Lorelai confided in him. "He got divorced because his wife cheated on him. I didn't think Rory being the other woman would sit well with him."

"You think he wouldn't understand?" Christopher replied.

"Of course he wouldn't understand," Lorelai raised her voice. "I don't even understand and I'm Rory's mother. How could I expect Luke to understand something like that?"

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit," Christopher said quietly leaning on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked. "Now you're Luke's biggest fan?"

"No, I'm not," Christopher said. "I wish there was no Luke because if there was no Luke then we wouldn't be talking about this right now. We'd be on a date or better yet we'd be doing something morally reprehensible because we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off each other."

"Christopher," Lorelai said warningly.

"You know it's true," he said.

Lorelai didn't answer because she knew that what he said was probably the truth. It seemed that no matter how many times he screwed up or let her down, Christopher was always...Christopher. The boy she grew up with, the guy she dated, Rory's father and, most of all, the man she saw in front of her with his life finally in order.

"So let's not talk about Luke," he continued. "Let's talk about us. I've always loved you Lore. I've wanted to put together our family since I can remember. And now there's no one standing in our way."

"We can't talk about this without talking about Luke," Lorelai said limply.

"You said you didn't love him," Christopher reasoned.

"I said I didn't know what I felt for him," Lorelai corrected him. "I have feelings for Luke. Strong feelings. I just don't know what they are yet. It's only been a few weeks."

"I seem to remember you telling me you loved me after a few dates," Christopher replied.

"Yeah well I was young and obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed back then," she said. "I can't do this to Luke. I can't."

"So you're saying part of you wants to give this a try?" Christopher asked hopefully.

"No," Lorelai tried to be firm, but her resolve wasn't reflecting what she felt. "I want, ugh, I want everything to go back to how they were before all this happened."

"I think we both know that isn't going to happen," Christopher said slowly approaching her again.

"I know," she snapped at him and ran her hands quickly through her hair in frustration.

* * *

Luke sat in his apartment for a while contemplating the fight he'd just had with Lorelai. Had he issued her an ultimatum? He couldn't remember. He knew it wasn't his intention to make her chose, but that's exactly what he'd ended up doing. He knew that forcing Lorelai into a quick decision was never good. It made her feel cornered and rushed, flustered and unable to think clearly.

Luke stood up and paced for a while. Caesar was downstairs and there weren't many people in the diner so he wasn't worried. Luke thought about the beginning of his relationship with Lorelai. He thought of the way he kissed her on the porch of the Dragonfly. The way she eagerly returned a second kiss. Then he thought of the problems Lorelai had with Rory. He didn't know what happened, but he knew it wasn't good if Lorelai had called Christopher.

Christopher. That was Luke's biggest problem. He knew that Christopher would always hold a special place in Lorelai's heart. Maybe that was why he was jealous. He knew Christopher had a piece of Lorelai that he could never touch. He also saw the way Christopher looked at her. Luke knew that look all too well. It was of concealed feelings and desire. It was the way Luke looked at Lorelai for years. The only difference was Luke knew Christopher wasn't the type to bid his time and wait for the right moment. Christopher was the type of guy to make his own moments and that's what Luke was afraid of.

He continued to pace and he realized he had to rectify the fight he had with Lorelai. It was getting late, but he couldn't let his ultimatum hang there. He needed to tell her he was angry and he'd made a mistake. He needed to let her know that he'd give her space, whatever she needed, until she wanted to see him again.

With these thoughts in his head Luke set out to Lorelai's. He decided to walk so he could formulate his thoughts. He needed to be articulate and concise. He also grabbed a cup of coffee on the way out the door. He figured if all else failed he would at least have brought a peace offering and Lorelai could never resist his coffee.

* * *

Lorelai was growing weary of her conversation with Christopher. So many things were happening all at once and she felt like she was at the breaking point. "You know what I want?" she finally asked Christopher.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want Luke to be standing here right now. I want to be able to tell Luke everything that happened and have him understand. But instead Luke has decided if you stay we're over and you're here so I guess that means Luke and are over," she babbled fast and furious.

"I want Rory to be here and not be upset because she slept with Dean. I want to be able to erase the fact that she lost her virginity to a married man. I want my parents to get back together because even though they're both crazy they're made for each other. I want the inn to be a success and most of all I just want you to stop looking at me that way because it makes me feel like I'm 15 all over again!" Lorelai ranted. Although she and Luke had only dated for a few weeks she had certainly picked up on his ranting perfection over the years.

Christopher stepped forward and drew his arms around Lorelai. She didn't fight it and she slipped comfortably in his grasp as he pulled her close and ran his hand over her hair.

"It'll all be okay," Christopher reassured her.

"How?" Lorelai started to weep. "How can it be okay?"

"Because it will," Christopher replied. "Because you're incredibly stubborn and you always get your way."

"Yeah," Lorelai laughed ironically.

Luke walked to the front porch and just before he rang the bell he decided to go to the back door. He hoped Lorelai would be in the kitchen alone. Using the back door cut down on the probability he'd run into Christopher and so he walked around the house. He walked up the steps to the back door and was about to knock when he noticed Lorelai and Christopher embracing in the kitchen. Against his better judgment he lowered his hand and stood staring for a moment.

"Lore," Christopher said leaning back and taking her tear-stained face in his hand. "I don't want to complicate your life. I just wanted to tell you where I stand. I think you know that I love you. It's always been you. It was you when we were five. It was you when we were 15. I love you now and I'll probably love you until the day I die. I'd like to try again, but if you don't want to or you're not ready I respect that," he said.

Lorelai just stared at him. "I won't like it," he added smiling. "But I'll respect it."

Lorelai stepped back and ran her hands over her face to rid the moist tears that had collected. She just looked at him again as if she were searching his eyes for some sort of sign. Finally she stepped forward and ran her finger across the Christopher's jaw line. Without thinking she pulled his face close to her own and pressed her lips to his. Christopher wrapped his arms around Lorelai and pulled her close to him. The kiss was soft at first but it escalated quickly and years of pent-up passion exploded between their lips.

Christopher stepped back and caught his breath. "Wow," he said.

Lorelai stepped back and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Yeah," she agreed.

Luke was shocked to see their embrace and he stood there fuming for a second before he turned his eyes away into the darkness of night. He fought the urge he had to kick in the door and instead he paced the porch while he thought about what he should do next.

Lorelai collected her thoughts for a moment and finally said, "I think you should go Christopher."

"What?" he asked confused.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I know what I need now and it's not you."

"I'm sorry, were we both experiencing the same kiss? Because the one I just had was amazing. It said 'I want you.' It said, 'I've finally found what I've been looking for all my life,'" Christopher said baffled.

"I'm sorry Christopher," Lorelai said again. "But it made me realize that our time has passed. I do love you, but I'm not in love with you. I don't get that feeling in the pit of stomach anymore. I said I wasn't in love with Luke, but I lied. I am in love with him."

Christopher was crushed. His eyes conveyed so much sadness and regret. He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh, okay," he started to speak. Just then there was a loud thud from the back porch, which interrupted his thoughts. Lorelai walked to the back door and flipped on the porch light. She opened the door to find Luke stomping through the yard and a cup of coffee leaking all over the back porch.

Lorelai left Christopher in the kitchen and she dashed outside.

"Luke," she called into the night.

He didn't respond and he kept walking so she followed him. "Luke," she said catching up to him and tugging at his arm.

"You just needed to discuss Rory? He's leaving in the morning?" Luke spat. "I bet I know why he isn't leaving tonight."

Luke shook off Lorelai's hand and stomped into the front yard.

"Hey," Lorelai said chasing after him. "Where do you get off judging me? An hour ago you told me that if Chris stayed here tonight then we were over."

"Well you didn't waste much time did you?" he said snidely.

"Oh my God," Lorelai said in astonishment. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Well it's the truth isn't it? It was him I didn't trust," Luke told her. "But then I came over to apologize. I needed to tell you something important. I needed to tell you I was out of line and I acted like a jerk."

"Acted?" Lorelai questioned him.

"Yeah," he dismissed her comment. "But then I find you in the kitchen kissing him. And don't tell me he started it because I saw the whole thing. You were the one who kissed him."

"Well aren't you just a regular stalker now. Have you been practicing your lurking in the shadows?" Lorelai said. "You misunderstood what you saw and I shouldn't even bother to explain, but what you saw was a goodbye."

"Didn't look like good bye to me. It looked like 'Hello, nice to see you, would you like a guided tour of my mouth?'" Luke shot sarcastically.

"You know what? T.J. was right," Lorelai said. "You are an ass."

Luke's eyes widened in shock. He was the one who had the right to upset not her. He tried to formulate a response but he couldn't think straight.

"I'm out here trying to tell you that you were right okay?" Lorelai started to explain rather loudly. "Christopher did want us to try again and I was confused because even though he's let me down and screwed up he's still Christopher. He's still Rory's Dad. And I've been trying to take things slow with you because I'm scared of hurting you, scared of getting hurt, scared of everything involving us being together."

"So you kissed him to make everything simpler? Nice logic," Luke said.

"Yeah it is," Lorelai said indignantly. "I kissed him to see if I felt anything for him and I don't okay? If you really had the stalker thing down you would have heard me tell him it's over. You would have heard me tell him that I love you, not him," Lorelai faltered as she let the words slip out.

She was shocked that her mouth had just betrayed her mind. She hadn't meant to tell Luke she loved him. She especially hadn't meant to tell him when she was in the middle of yelling at him. She saw the look of shock on his face and she knew instantly that she's spoken too soon. It was too soon for saying 'I love you.' She knew Luke had feelings for her, but love was too powerful too soon and she knew she had to take it back.

Luke looked at her for a moment almost unsure of what he'd heard. For the second time in five minutes he didn't know how to respond. She looked like she meant what she said. There was an obvious disconnect between his head and his heart. His head screamed, 'She just kissed Christopher, the love of her life an hour after seeing you!' His heart yelled, 'You've waited for this moment for years. Tell her you love her too!" Instead Luke just stood there staring.

"But you know what I think I was wrong," Lorelai backtracked. "I couldn't love a man who doesn't trust me enough to be alone with Rory's father."

Luke struggled to process the conversation. One minute Lorelai said she loved him and then next she said she could never love him. At this point he wasn't sure what was truth and what was fiction.

"So you're saying you take it back?" Luke asked. "You didn't tell Christopher you were in love with me?"

"No I didn't because I'm not," Lorelai replied haughtily. She saw the hurt pass like a wave through Luke's eyes. It was swift and violent and it moved through the ocean of blue in his eyes that looked at her in anger and disappointment, but she didn't care. She didn't care that she was hurting him. He didn't trust her. He had practically accused her of dating him while she was sleeping with Christopher.

Luke didn't take the time to think about how the conversation had gone from love to hate so quickly. He was hurt and he reacted in pain, not logic. "Good," he replied. "It makes it easier."

"It makes what easier?" Lorelai said without feeling.

"It makes it easier to tell you what I came to tell you," he said. He wasn't sure what he was saying. He felt like she had deliberately tried to hurt him and then only thing on his mind was retribution. He wanted to hurt her as badly as she'd hurt him and so he said the one thing he knew would hurt her more than anything.

"I came to tell you that I'm not divorced," he said simply. He noticed that Lorelai flinched, but he continued on. "Nicole called and told me she held up the divorce because she wants to make it work. I wasn't sure at first, but we're going away this weekend to a couple's retreat to see if we be together."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was lying. He was trying to hurt her and he knew throwing his marriage in her face would do the trick. "You're lying," she scoffed.

"Am I?" he asked acrimoniously.

Lorelai studied his face and suddenly she wasn't so sure he was lying. Luke never gave anything away. Lorelai had always thought she could tell what he was thinking or feeling, but now? Now his eyes were two dead orbs that reminded Lorelai more of two shards ice than of a soothing ocean.

"You don't love Nicole," Lorelai told him. "You never loved her. You married her because you were afraid of being alone. And I think you're forgetting that I was the one who bailed you out of jail when you found her with the Sock Man. You expect me to believe that not only have you forgiven her, but you're gonna go to a couple's retreat?" she laughed.

"You know what? I don't really care what you believe," Luke shot back at her. "You stay here with Christopher and you have fun. When I'm not around to pour you coffee and serve you pie like the Queen's footman you'll know why," he said and he turned on his heel to walk briskly away.

"Good," Lorelai shouted at him as he walked away. "Have fun with Nicole on your retreat. I hope you get in touch with your inner child. And don't worry about serving me because I don't plan on going to the diner tomorrow, next week or ever!"

"Great!" Luke shouted back over his shoulder.

"Terrific," she shouted louder as he walked farther away.

"Fine," he yelled back not turning.

"Whatever," she shouted feebly as she watched Luke disappear into the darkness.

TBC

_A/N: Please trust me I have a fully formulated plan at this point. For some reason I like a heaping cup of angst with my Luke and Lorelai, but don't worry! _


	8. A Lukeless Existence?

Author's Note: I still don't own Gilmore Girls…

Lorelai watched Luke's silhouette fade into the distance and she began to cry. The tears, which she swore she'd fight, overpowered her and she collapsed into a heap in the center of yard. She silently wept as she struggled to understand what happened.

She knew she'd said things to hurt Luke. She knew he said things to hurt her in retaliation. 'He couldn't be telling the truth about Nicole, could he?' she wondered. Lorelai knew Luke didn't really love her. Or was that just what she told herself all those months she pictured him married? Luke married to Nicole? It didn't make sense. It never did. 'He was lying,' she told herself over and over again.

Lorelai sat hunched over on the lawn, not unlike Rory had a few weeks ago. She just sat there staring into the night until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head hopefully thinking it might be Luke coming back to make up, to explain. But it wasn't Luke who offered a supportive hand. It was Christopher.

"Lore," Christopher said quietly.

"Hey," Lorelai tried to smile and put on a brave face as she wiped her face of the salty tears.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lorelai lied. "I'm good. I didn't mean to run out on you like that. You deserved an explanation and I just left."

"I think the fact that you ran after Luke and left me was all the explanation I needed," Christopher said.

"I shouldn't have done that," she offered standing up. "I didn't mean for things to get so complicated." Lorelai walked a quick circle while she scratched her forehead thinking.

"I didn't notice your feelings for me," she said. "I didn't realize the effect you being here would have on me, Rory or Luke. Apparently everyone saw what was happening except me. I'm the Clueless Wonder in all this! And now, not only have I hurt you, I've hurt myself, Rory won't be too pleased and Luke…man I messed up with Luke."

"Yeah you two were pretty loud out here," Christopher said.

"How loud?" Lorelai asked distressed that other people might have heard them fighting.

"Remember when we snuck off to Boston to see Bon Jovi and our seats were right next to the speakers?" he asked.

"That bad?" Lorelai asked.

"Louder," he replied. "Give or take five decibels."

"Great," she said glumly.

"I'm sorry if I messed things up for you Lore," Christopher offered. "I just wanted to take a chance so that when I look back years from now I'll know I did everything I could and I won't regret anything."

Lorelai looked up at Christopher. 'When did he turn into an adult?' she wondered. He was being so mature. She kissed him and turned him down and he was trying to help her feel better.

"I know," Lorelai said. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I'm sorry I kissed you like that, but I had to know."

"And you got your answer," Christopher said.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied walking over to the front steps and taking a seat.

Christopher followed her and sat down next to her. "So why did you take it back--what you said to Luke?"

"God we were that loud?" she asked. Christopher simply nodded.

"I don't know. I didn't mean to tell him I loved him, it just slipped out. And there he was looking puzzled, like it was way too fast to be saying 'I love you' and I panicked. I was screaming at him for not trusting me and then I was telling him I loved him and he was looking at me like I was insane."

"You didn't really give him a chance to say anything," Christopher told her.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"I'm just saying, from my point of view you gave the guy about 15 seconds to process what you told him and then you took it back."

"Thanks for seeing it my way," she replied.

"I'm just saying, you might have given him a little more time to respond," Christopher said.

"Oh he responded alright," Lorelai said. "You heard him. He's still married," she supplied air quotes with her fingers as she said 'married.' "He's going away to work on his marriage. I was there when he got his divorce papers notarized and now he thinks he can lie about it?" she continued.

"It doesn't make sense, but I think you were both pretty spiteful," Christopher said. "He said things to piss you off and you did the same thing. You know how to push each other's buttons."

"Yeah, well we've always been good at that," Lorelai said glumly.

"Look, I'm think I'm gonna go," Christopher said standing. "You didn't want me here tonight and I think I've already caused you enough trouble."

"Chris," Lorelai said standing. "I'm sorry, you don't have to go. It's late. I should at least offer you a place to stay after what happened in the kitchen tonight."

"No, I think it would be better for both of us if I left," he replied. "I can pretend that I'm fine for a little while longer, but a whole night? It just wouldn't work."

Lorelai stood up and walked into the house with Christopher. "I'm really sorry about how everything worked out. I never meant to hurt you," Lorelai offered as she helped him pack his bag.

"Yeah, well I'm sorry too," Christopher replied softly. "If it wouldn't be too weird I'd kind of like to be here when Rory gets back from Europe. Would that be okay?"

"I think that would be great," Lorelai said. "Rory would really like that."

"Okay," he said. "Well then I'll come back. The 28th?"

"Yeah, the 28th at 4 o'clock," Lorelai replied.

"Okay, well then I'll be here," Christopher forced a smile as he zipped his bag. He looked at Lorelai as he slung it over his shoulder. "I waited too long huh?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said sadly looking down.

"When did you know? I mean I don't believe you even needed to kiss me to figure it out," he said.

Lorelai sighed. "I guess I knew when I watched you and Sherry at the hospital. Everything was real then. You were experiencing something with her that we never got and it hurt. I guess I knew then," she explained.

"Then why the kiss?" he asked.

"I had to be sure," she said simply. "I didn't want to screw things up again and I had to be positive there was nothing there."

Christopher listened to her explanation and nodded. "Well I can't say I'm not disappointed," he said walking to the door.

"You take care of yourself Christopher," Lorelai said.

"You too," he said opening the door. "And do yourself a favor--don't be stubborn," he said giving her advice.

"I'm not stubb--," Christopher cut her off by placing his hand over her mouth.

"You are," he said forcefully. "And from what I've seen Luke is too. Don't let whatever you have going on pass you by." He removed his hand from her mouth.

"Thanks," she said wryly.

"You're welcome. I'll see you in a few weeks," he said.

Lorelai watched Christopher walk through the door and to his car and she was alone. Undeniably alone. The silence was deafening. The problem with the silence was that it left her with thoughts--horrible ruminations on Luke, Rory, Christopher and everything else that had gone wrong. The only way to shut out the thoughts was to silence them, turn off her brain. And so Lorelai slowly climbed the stairs and threw herself on her bed where she turned off the thoughts running through her brain until morning.

* * *

She didn't want to go to the diner. Christopher was right. Lorelai was stubborn and he had told Luke she wasn't planning on returning to his diner again. But the rational part of her took over and Christopher's advice rang through her ears. 'Don't be stubborn.' She heard it over and over again as she struggled to avoid going to Luke's. Finally she relented and decided he was right. Lorelai wanted to make this relationship work and if it meant an apology then that's what she would do.

She opened the door to the diner and scanned the crowd. She didn't see any sign of Luke. He was probably in the back. She felt a smug sense of power when she realized he would be shocked to see her. It definitely gave her the upper hand. He would be more likely to accept her apology if he weren't expecting it.

Lorelai took a seat at an empty table and waited. She scanned the crowd again and noticed Lane. She smiled at her as she walked over the table.

"Hey Lorelai," Lane said with a smile. "Coffee?"

"Yeah that would be great," Lorelai replied. "Actually no," she changed her mind.

"No?" Lane asked puzzled.

"No," Lorelai repeated. 'I'm actually looking for Luke. Is he in the back?"

"Oh, no he's not," Lane replied. "He went out of town for a few days."

An unsettling feeling washed over Lorelai as she processed this news. "Oh," she replied dejected. "Did he go on one of his fishing expeditions?" Lorelai tried to mock without much luck.

"No," Lane said. "He said something about a retreat. I thought it sounded kind of weird. Luke doesn't strike me as a communal living/team building kind of guy. I thought maybe you talked him into it."

"No, no I sure didn't," Lorelai replied in disbelief. The unsettling feeling in her stomach quickly turned to sickness. Lorelai had the overwhelming urge to heave, but instead she painted on a fake plastic smile. "Uh you know what Lane? Coffee would be great."

"Okay coming right up," Lane said congenially as she walked into the kitchen.

Lorelai sat at the table studying the pattern on the Formica. She felt ill. 'Could he have been telling the truth about Nicole?' Lorelai wondered. Suddenly she heard the bells above the door jingle and Babette walked in. Against her better judgement Lorelai waved her over to the table.

"Hi Babette," Lorelai tried to say brightly.

"Hey sugar," Babette said sitting down. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Oh good," Lorelai said. "I've been meaning to talk to you too."

"Oh that's great honey," Babette smiled and lightly slapped Lorelai's hand. "Look I hope you don't mind me asking, but Patty saw me this morning and she asked me something and I said I had to check with you on it. Patty said she heard that Luke was getting back together with that hoity-toity lawyer wife of his. I told her that couldn't be true because she cheated on him, not to mention we all thought you and Luke had a little something going on," Babette said giving her a nudge.

Lorelai had thought she new what sick felt like, but after hearing Babette mention Luke and Nicole getting back to together she realized she didn't have a clue what sick felt like until now. Lorelai struggled to keep her emotions in check while she gathered more information.

"Um, huh. Really? Where did Patty hear this from Babette?" Lorelai asked.

"Well she saw Luke loading up the truck late last night. She thought maybe you two were going on a romantic get-away, but when she asked he said he was going to some sort of couples retreat with that Nicole," Babette explained.

The color from Lorelai's face drained as she suddenly realized that Luke hadn't been lying. He was getting back together with Nicole. Lorelai felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt as if her chest had caved in and punctured her lungs. No amount of self-control allowed her to act calmly. Instead she quickly stood and dashed out of the diner.

"Lorelai?" Babette said. "Sweetie, are you okay?" Babette called after her.

Lorelai paid no attention to Babette's calls. Instead she walked as fast as her legs would carry her to her Jeep. She opened the door and drove off struggling to see the road through the tears in her eyes.

* * *

Days went by and Lorelai focused all her energy on the inn. She hadn't gone to Luke's since the day she found out he had really gone away with Nicole. She couldn't understand how he could be so cold. She thought they were starting something special. It was new and scary, but it was also exciting and the best Lorelai had felt about a relationship.

The previous morning Sookie told Lorelai that Luke had returned to the diner. According to Sookie he looked tan and well rested, but tenser than ever before. The talk of the town was, of course, the fact that the perceived relationship between Luke and Lorelai had ended rather abruptly and that Luke was reported to be back with Nicole. No one had actually seen Nicole, but no one saw much of Nicole when they were married before so it didn't seem like a big deal.

Sookie reported that Luke was unusually hostile to Taylor and virtually ignored all of Kirk's requests. Luke was only back a day before the town agreed that they liked when Luke dated Lorelai much better than when he was married to Nicole. The shift in mood was drastic and dramatic.

Luke noticed how they talked about him, but he didn't much care. He had bigger problems at the moment. The largest being the constant thoughts of Lorelai that ran through his head. He silently hoped that she would walk through the door each and every day, but he knew that was wishful thinking. He thought of going to see her. After all he owed her an explanation, but he couldn't bring himself to go see her.

Lorelai had made sure to go to the market and restaurants when she was sure Luke would be preoccupied at the diner. It had been a week since their fight and neither had seen or spoken to each other. Lorelai worked on providing the best customer service around and Luke threw himself into the diner.

After work Lorelai decided a movie might be the best thing to pass the time so she walked to the video store. She was certain it was the one place in town where she didn't have to bother to check the time to see if Luke might show up. She was wrong.

It was quite befitting that Lorelai and Luke ran into each other in between the drama and horror section of the store. It spoke volumes about the state of their relationship at the given time. Lorelai had just picked up Baz Luhrmann's _Romeo and Juliet_ and was turning to approach the register when she literally ran into Luke. He was turning and they bumped into each other at full force. Both dropped their respective videos and stared at each other for moment.

"Sorry," they both said in unison.

"My fault," Luke mumbled.

"Stupid close racks," Lorelai said.

Luke bent down to pick up their videos at the same time Lorelai bent down. They both struggled to conceal the videos they'd chosen with no luck.

"_Jerry Maguire_?" Lorelai said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's about football," Luke defended himself standing.

"Right," she replied sarcastically. "Since when do you rent movies anyway?"

Luke was taken aback. She was right. He didn't rent movies, but he couldn't very well admit that he missed watching them since he and Lorelai weren't speaking. How could he tell her that he had this overwhelming urge to be close to her and renting a video was the only way to quell that need? Instead he changed the focus of the conversation. "_Romeo and Juliet_?" Luke shot back at her.

"It's cinematic masterpiece," Lorelai said. "Not to mention Shakespeare perfectly captures the way love drives people to suicide," she said pointedly.

"Nice," he mumbled.

"Well I'm sure Nicole will just love _Jerry Maguire_," Lorelai said.

Luke stood mute. He wasn't sure what to say. This loss for words seemed to be the problem he faced when he was around Lorelai lately. His inability to reply after her sudden admission of love had been the cause of their fight. Luke had spent the last week thinking about that fight and it had finally dawned on him that Lorelai had said she loved him. He was too angry at the time to realize that she meant it. But now he wasn't angry, he was thinking clearly.

"We need to talk," he said finally.

"We have nothing to say to each other," she replied and quickly turned away to walk to the register.

Luke quickly fell into step and followed behind her. "Lorelai," he said seriously.

She wasn't sure what it was that made her turn. She thought it was the tone of his voice. There was a seriousness, but also a pleading and it made her stop.

"What?" she said exasperated.

"Please talk to me," he said.

"I have nothing to say," Lorelai replied.

"Well I do," Luke said. He looked around and was very aware that the store seemed to be hanging on their every word. "Can we do this somewhere else?" he asked.

"Fine," she said tossing her video on the counter. "Save this for me Pete. I'll be back," she said walking ahead of Luke out of the store.

Luke threw his video on top of hers and followed her out of the store. She was walking quickly and he finally caught up.

"Where are you going?" he asked while they walked.

"You wanted to talk, we're talking. You didn't want to be in the video store and we're not. Do I have to make all the decisions tonight?" she said.

"No," Luke said taking her by the arm. "We're going to my apartment," he said leading her to the back door of the diner and up the stairs.

"Oh, it's still your apartment?" Lorelai questioned. "I thought maybe you were back in Litchfield with Nicole."

Luke looked at her. She was trying to push his buttons. He couldn't deny that she was good at it, but he refused to let her get the best of him this time. He opened the door and ushered her in.

"Sit," he commanded as he walked over to a file cabinet.

Shocking Luke, Lorelai complied with his request without a fight. She pulled out a chair and sat in the chair. Luke walked over with a folder in his hands. He threw it down on the table in front of Lorelai.

"Here," he said.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Just read it," Luke replied.

TBC


	9. Truth, Lies and Resolution

_Author's Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger. I noticed you don't really enjoy them! I was tapped out and figured it would be best to give you something than nothing. So thanks for the reviews. Hopefully the wait wasn't too long. I tried to update yesterday to no avail so thanks for being patient! I still don't own Gilmore Girls... _

"Remember when I told you I was a compulsive liar?" Luke asked settling into his chair next to Lorelai. "Apparently there was more truth to that than I realized."

Lorelai flipped open the folder and gazed at the paper staring back at her. "I don't understand," she said confused.

"I'm not married to Nicole. That's the official divorce decree," he told her.

"I can't believe this," Lorelai said stunned. "Why would you tell me you were still married?"

Lorelai pushed her chair back from the table and stood. Luke stood up and tried to approach her, but she inched farther away.

"How could you be so unbelievably cruel? At first I thought it was all a lie, but Lane and Babette and Patty and_ everyone_ said you were gone on a retreat with Nicole!" she shouted angrily.

"I know," Luke said sheepishly. "Don't think I don't feel bad about what I said. Why do you think I'm telling you now?"

"You have no idea what I've been through," Lorelai continued to rage at him. "I really thought you had gone back to Nicole. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

"Do you have any idea how much it killed me to see you kissing Christopher?" Luke shot back at her. "You were hurt by the _thought_ of Nicole, try being hurt by the reality."

Lorelai didn't know what to say. She knew he had a point. He had to endure the horror of watching her kiss Christopher. Lorelai knew she couldn't handle the thought of Luke and Nicole being together, let alone actually witnessing a moment as intimate as a kiss. She struggled to figure out what had gone so horribly wrong between them.

"I don't know what to say," Lorelai simply replied.

"I don't either," Luke sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I had to tell you the truth. So now you know," he said picking up the paper and tossing it back into the folder. "That's really all I had to tell you. I won't hold it against you if you think I'm an ass, but, oh hell, you already think I am," he finished trying to make light of situation.

Luke picked up the folder and walked over to the file cabinet. His back was turned toward Lorelai and she just stood there contemplating her next move. A large part of her wanted to run. She couldn't believe Luke could do something so cruel and unusual. But part of her understood what he'd done. After all, Luke saw Lorelai kissing Christopher and although she said it meant nothing she also told Luke that she could never love him. He acted in anger and so did she.

"Christopher said I'm stubborn," Lorelai said.

Luke stood mute as he filed the folder.

"He told me I was stubborn and I shouldn't let that ruin things between us," Lorelai continued.

"So now Christopher is my biggest fan?" Luke asked surprised.

"No," Lorelai replied. "But he saw what was between us and he knows me so he was trying to be helpful."

A look of disgust, or was it hurt, passed over Luke's face. The look was not lost on Lorelai.

"What?" she asked testily.

"Nothing," Luke replied. "It just comes back to him all the time. I thought we really had something, but inevitably it always comes back to Christopher and how he knows you. How's he's worthy of you, but I'm not. He'll always have a piece of you that I can't touch."

"You're right, he will," Lorelai spat.

"Great, just what I wanted to hear," Luke grumbled. "Well don't let someone as unworthy as me keep you. I'm sure you have places to be."

"That's not what I meant," Lorelai said. "Yes, Christopher will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm not interested in getting back together with him," she said calming down. "Look, I'm trying to tell you that I don't want whatever this is to end because we're both too stubborn to do anything about it."

Luke studied her face and found that she was being truly sincere. "I don't want things to end this way either," Luke said walking back to the kitchen table and taking a seat. They were both speaking calmly and rationally. This was the moment that would make or break their relationship.

"But you can't deny that we've got some serious issues," Luke said.

"I know," Lorelai replied. "I'm sorry that you don't feel you can't trust me."

"That isn't true," Luke said. "I do trust you. I admit that seeing with you with Christopher tested that theory, but I trust you. The problem is that you don't trust me."

"What you mean?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"I mean you don't trust me enough to help you with your problems. I thought couples were supposed to talk about things. You obviously had this huge problem and you called Christopher. You said you liked spending time with me, but at the end of the day you'd go home to him. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? Especially when I saw the way he'd look at you," Luke explained.

"Luke," Lorelai sighed. She walked over to the table and sat across from him. She picked up his hands and held them in her own. "Please, please understand that this wasn't about you. It wasn't about me feeling comfortable telling Christopher things and not you. Something happened with Rory and for a variety of reasons I felt I could tell Christopher what happened. He needed to know because I needed his help."

"I could've helped you," Luke said quietly.

"I don't doubt that," Lorelai replied.

"Then why didn't you ask me?" he asked her point blank.

"I couldn't," Lorelai admitted not looking him in the eyes. "We had just kissed and things were new and different and I didn't want to dump all this on you. I also didn't want to betray Rory. It was her issue and I didn't want you to think any less of her."

"I could never think any less of Rory," Luke protested.

"Luke you have no idea," Lorelai said stopping his protest. "I thought less of her and I'm her mother."

Luke just looked up and gave her a puzzled look. Lorelai swallowed hard. She needed to make him understand and there was only one way to accomplish this task.

"She slept with Dean the night of the test run," Lorelai said softly not looking at him.

"What?" Luke said alarmed dropping Lorelai's hands.

"I came home after Kirk's reenactment of _Run Lola Run_ and I found them together," Lorelai said. "I got into fight with Rory and she told me she hated me for ruining things for her. I got her calmed down and into bed and I was so confused and let down that I wasn't thinking clearly. I picked up the phone and I called Christopher. He came over and you know the rest," Lorelai explained.

Luke stood up and paced a few steps while he ran his hands over his face. "Okay, first thing's first. Why is Dean still breathing? He's married. I mean, he is still married right? I know I'm not in on the Stars Hollow Gossip Tree, but I'm pretty sure he's still married."

"He is," Lorelai said. "He was married when it happened and he's married now. He's still alive because Rory is just as much to blame as he is. It's like she wasn't thinking. She was going on about how he was her Dean and how he's so good and nice and I felt so ill just looking at her."

"I should've seen this coming," Luke said softly. "I'm such an idiot."

"What? Why? Luke there was no way you could've known this would happen," Lorelai replied sitting up straighter in her chair.

"I knew he still loved her," Luke said. "Remember when I told you not to go to Dean's wedding? Well, when I told Rory not to go?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded vaguely recalling Rory's cryptic message that Luke had said to stay away from the wedding.

"The night before Dean's wedding he came into the diner with some of his buddies. They had a little too much to drink and Dean ended up staying at my place to sleep it off. He was pretty drunk and he made a few comments about Rory."

"He did?" Lorelai asked shocked.

"Yeah, but I figured he was drunk so it wasn't a big deal," Luke continued. "But I ran into him again a while later. We were talking about Lindsey and suddenly he lost his train of thought. He was completely gone and I followed his eyes. He was watching Rory. You'd just come back from somewhere and you were going into the diner. He looked at her like he was still in love her."

"Wow," Lorelai breathed.

"Yeah, wow," Luke replied. "This is all my fault. I should have said something."

"Luke," Lorelai said standing. "You couldn't have stopped this from happening. Rory and Dean are both old enough to know better."

"I don't understand why you couldn't tell me this weeks ago," Luke said.

"I just couldn't," Lorelai said. "After everything that happened with Nicole I figured you wouldn't understand. You've never done anything so reckless and stupid. I knew Christopher would understand because we both made horrible mistakes when we were younger."

"First of all my marriage to Nicole has nothing to do with you and Rory," Luke began. "I'm not gonna pretend that cheating isn't a big deal because it hurts people, but it's not something I can't understand. And second, I've made plenty of mistakes in my life. I would have understood."

"What a pair we make," Lorelai chuckled ironically. "I think you're perfect and you think you're unworthy."

Luke walked back to the table and sat down facing Lorelai. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Lorelai," he said in all seriousness. "I'm not perfect. I'm far from it. My actions last week should prove that. And as far as me being unworthy, it's not that far from the truth. You're this funny, beautiful, energetic wonder and I'm the grumpy loner who runs the diner. I've spent the last few weeks wondering what you could possibly see in me."

Lorelai leaned in and sat mirroring Luke, her elbows resting on her knees. "You," she said placing her hands on his knees, "are not unworthy. If anything I'm the one who isn't worthy to be with you. How many times have I hurt you? I was too dense to see what was in front of me. And then I had you and I was practically playing house with Christopher. I had no idea how that must have hurt you."

Luke leaned closer and placed his hands over hers. He leaned his forehead against Lorelai's and looked down. "I'm so sorry for what I did," he said. "You had so much going on and I was being selfish and thinking of myself."

"Luke," Lorelai said taking his chin in her hand. "You are one of the most unselfish people I've ever met. You made a mistake, so did I."

"What mistake did you make?" he asked.

"Telling you I could never love you," Lorelai said. "You never would have played the Nicole card if I hadn't hurt you by saying what I said. And believe me I was being spiteful because I knew it would hurt you if I said it. And I didn't mean it because the truth is that I do love you."

Luke looked deep into her eyes and he knew that meant it this time. He knew there was no doubt in her mind and before she had a chance to take it back again he swiftly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. He took her face in his hands and pulled her closer to him.

Lorelai leaned in and came up off her chair collapsing into Luke. Their hands a frenzy of touching and electricity. It was there that Lorelai felt it, the thing that was missing from her kiss with Christopher. In fact thinking about it now she concluded that whatever this new feeling was she had never felt it with Christopher or anyone else. It was like coming home to a house of love and comfort, safety.

Luke was the first one to pull back, but as he did he looked deeply into Lorelai's piercing blue eyes and said, "I love you Lorelai. I don't know how I got so lucky but I love you."

Lorelai propped herself arm on Luke's chest and looked at him. "Please don't think that you don't deserve this Luke. If anything I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. And don't try to compare yourself to Christopher because you don't have to. You're all I want and you are all I need," she said forcefully.

"And you're all I need," Luke replied leaning in to kiss her again.

"Good," Lorelai said. "So then there's only one more thing we need to discuss."

"How we're gonna kill Dean?" Luke ventured.

"No," Lorelai smirked. "Although I appreciate the thought."

"So what do we need to discuss?" he asked giving her a little squeeze.

"Remember how I had that whole idea of putting us on hold?" she said crinkling her nose.

"I vaguely recall," Luke replied.

"I can't do it anymore," she said playfully.

"Aside from the I love you, that's the best thing I've heard come out of your mouth," Luke smiled and he leaned in and kissed her hungrily.

TBC


	10. One Big Happy

_Author's Note: Last chapter—finally! Sorry, I've been swamped, but I hope this is worth it. I kind of like where it ended up. I don't own Gilmore Girls..._

"Hey," Luke called upstairs. "What time did you say you had to leave?" 

"No later than 3," Lorelai shouted back. 

Luke glanced at his watch and rolled his eyes. "You do realize it's ten after 3, right?" he yelled back. 

"Yes, but I can't go anywhere until Christopher gets here," she replied. 

Luke heard a few footsteps followed by a loud thud and he started to climb the stairs when Lorelai finally made her way down. "Oww," she said pouting as he shuffled down the steps.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked climbing two more steps and placing a protective arm around her. 

"Damn Ab Roller," Lorelai grumbled as they descended the steps. 

"You were working out?" Luke asked incredulously. 

"No," Lorelai replied rubbing her elbow and giving him a look. "It was a late night impulse purchase from that guy on TV. He made it sound so effortless, but having rock-hard, Janet Jackson abs requires a lot more work than I'm willing to do."

"So you shoved it aside, forgot about it, it reared its ugly head and you tripped over it?" Luke asked. 

"Bingo," she smiled. "You get a cookie." 

"Great," Luke smiled escorting Lorelai to the couch. Once she was settled he walked over to the banister and picked up his flannel shirt and put it on.

"Ah, what Patty and Babette wouldn't give to have seen what lurks beneath that flannel," Lorelai sighed as she pulled on her shoes.

"Well no matter what they offer you it stays between us right?" Luke said fixing his sleeves and picking up his wallet from the table.

"Of course," Lorelai said. "Unless they offer me something really good like a lifetime supply of pie," she teased him.

"Good to know my secrets are only worth a lifetime supply of pie," Luke said wryly. 

"Hey it could be apple pie! Who am I to turn that down?" Lorelai tried to convince him. "Don't worry I don't think they could handle the thought of what a hunky man you are under all the flannel."

A light pink crept into Luke's cheeks and he walked over to the couch and bent over the arm to give Lorelai a kiss. 

"Thanks," he said. "I gotta go. You stopping by the diner on the way home?" 

"Probably," Lorelai said. "I imagine Rory's gonna need a patented Luke burger after subsisting on nothing but caviar and fete cheese," Lorelai said making a face. "Are you sure you won't come to the airport with me and Christopher?"

"Positive," Luke said. "It's a family thing. I don't want to interfere," Luke said. 

"Luke, you're not an interference," Lorelai said. "You just don't want to see Christopher." 

"You know me too well," Luke replied. "It's okay really, I need to get to work anyway," Luke said sincerely. "Some crazy lady talked me into sleeping in and partaking in a whole litany of activities that I'm sure are illegal in most countries."

"And you enjoyed every minute of it," Lorelai grinned. 

"That's not the point," Luke said smiling back. 

"Okay, go," Lorelai said standing. "It was fun playing house with you though." 

"I had fun too," Luke said leaning forward and planting a small kiss on her lips. "I'll see you later." 

"Bye," she said watching him walk out the door. Lorelai had to admit she didn't think she'd ever tire of watching Luke walk away. It was something about his faded jeans that fit perfectly in all the right places that made Lorelai sigh.

She picked up her cell phone about to call Christopher when she heard a car horn blaring in the driveway. She quickly dashed to the door and ran outside.

"You're late," she called as she ran over to the passenger's side of the car. 

"Like you were ready at 3," Christopher said knowingly as she got in. 

Borrowing a line from Luke she replied, "That's not the point." 

"Well we can always hope their flight was delayed," Christopher said as Lorelai shut the door. "Besides Rory knows we're not the poster children for being on time."

"Right, but try explaining that to my mother," Lorelai said. 

"Is your Dad coming to the airport?" Christopher asked. 

"Are you kidding? I talked to him two days ago and I swear he was still trying to pretend that there was nothing wrong between him and my mother."

"Really?" Christopher said interested. 

"Uh-huh," Lorelai replied. "He is the King of Denial right now. I don't expect to see him welcoming my mother home with open arms."

"So other than that how have things been?" Christopher asked. 

"How have things been since we talked three days ago?" Lorelai asked. 

"Yeah," Christopher said. 

"Things are good," Lorelai tried to suppress her smile. She knew Christopher was going through a divorce and she didn't want to flaunt her newfound happiness in front of him, but the fact of the matter was that she was deliriously happy. Once they'd made amends it seemed Luke and Lorelai couldn't stand to be apart. Since Rory was gone and Christopher had left Luke had spent every night over at Lorelai's. She had gotten used to falling asleep with her head on his chest. He had gotten used to waking up with Lorelai in his arms. The happiness she exuded was palatably and not lost on Christopher.

"So things with Luke are good?" Christopher asked tentatively. 

"Yeah, they are," Lorelai grinned. 

"Good, I'm happy for you," Christopher replied. Lorelai looked at him and she realized that he seemed to actually mean what he said. There wasn't a hint of sarcasm for jealousy to his tone.

"So how are things with you?" Lorelai asked. 

"Oh, you know, I'm just taking things one day at time. It's about all I can do right now," he replied.  
  
Then, as if it was an afterthought, instead of the well-thought out comment it was, he added, "I really am happy for you Lore. I'm actually kind of glad you turned me down cold. As much as I wanted to believe I was in a good place to start something, I really wasn't. Luke's a lucky guy."

Lorelai studied his face for a moment. She couldn't believe his honesty. It seemed that Christopher always held back a small piece of the truth, but this time it was as if she could see into his soul and she knew he was being truly honest with her.

"Thank you," Lorelai said. "I think Luke and I are both pretty lucky actually." 

They drove the rest of the way to Hartford in relative silence, but it was anything but uncomfortable. In fact, Lorelai hadn't felt this at ease next to Christopher in a long time. There was no uncertainty, no hesitation. They knew what they were to each other and although they were only best of friends it didn't seem to matter.

* * *

Christopher pulled up to Luke's just after 8 p.m. Emily had forced Lorelai, Rory and Christopher to go to dinner with her since she wasn't looking forward to returning to an empty hotel room. The meal hadn't been too excruciating, but it was long enough that Lorelai needed massive doses of Luke's coffee and Rory was in desperate need of grease. 

"So then Grandma called him a sea urchin," Rory laughed finishing a story about her great European adventure. 

"Wow, I never took your mother for a fan of The Little Mermaid," Christopher said chuckling as he held open the door for Rory and Lorelai.

"I'm so happy you're here," Rory said to Christopher as they sat down. "Are you staying?" 

Lorelai and Christopher exchanged a glance. They felt it would better if Rory didn't know about the drama that took place between them while she was gone.

"No, I'm actually driving back to Boston tonight," Christopher said. "I just wanted to make sure that you were settled and back from Europe safe and sound."

"Oh, well I'm glad you came," Rory smiled. 

Luke walked out of the kitchen and saw the whole family sitting at their usual table. He took a deep breath and approached them. He knew that Lorelai had chosen him, but he still felt slightly threatened by Christopher's presence.

"Welcome back stranger," Luke said giving Rory a tap on the shoulder.

"Hi Luke," Rory replied happily.

"How was Europe?" he asked.

"It was nice, but I could sure use an all-American cheese burger right about now," Rory replied.

"Cheeseburger, curly fries and a slice of peach pie?" Luke asked.

"Please," Rory smiled.

"Coming up," Luke said and he walked behind the counter.

Lorelai had asked Luke to play it cool when Rory got back. She wasn't certain what kind of emotional state Rory would be in and she didn't want to flaunt their newfound happiness in front of her. Luke obliged, although since the diner was empty, save for the Rory, Lorelai and Christopher, he had to use all his willpower not to be closer to Lorelai.

"I need to make a quick phone call," Christopher said standing, "But don't start telling the story about Emily and Bastille Day before I get back." He gave Rory a quick wink and started to walk away.

"It sounds like a good one," Lorelai told him. "I make no promises not to force it out of her while you're gone."

Christopher simply rolled his eyes at Lorelai and walked to the back of the diner.

"So Mom," Rory said once Christopher had left the room, "what's going on with you and Luke? How serious did things get while I was gone?"

Lorelai tried to suppress a smile. The truth was that Luke and Lorelai's relationship hadn't progressed much while Rory was gone. It was only in the last week that their union had doubled in intensity and commitment, but it felt longer.

"Well, everything is still new," Lorelai evaded. She was never one to discuss her feelings and Rory wasn't surprised that she was being evasive now. "But things are almost perfect," Lorelai quietly continuing to surprise Rory. "I really love him," Lorelai said stealing a glance at Luke while he wiped down the counter.

"Wow," Rory said. She was shocked that her mother had given up so much information. In fact she couldn't remember Lorelai ever telling her that she was really, truly in love. She had vague memories of Lorelai telling her how much she loved Christopher, but that was all past tense. Even when she was engaged to Max she rarely stated her feelings out loud. In fact, Rory couldn't recall a single time when her mother looked so happy and talked about being in love.

"Yeah," Lorelai grinned shyly turning back to Rory as Luke walked back into the kitchen.

"You're blushing," Rory said pointing at Lorelai. "I can't believe you're blushing."

"Oh stop," Lorelai said swatting her hand away from her face. She knew she was blushing, but what could she do? Luke had that affect on her.

"Luke makes you blush," Rory giggled.

"What? Big deal, Luke makes me blush," Lorelai replied simply.

"Oh look how you said Luke makes you blush," Rory said. "I can't talk about this anymore. It's the waltz tone all over again."

"What waltz tone?" Lorelai asked.

"The same tone you used when you told me Luke could waltz, which lead to a discussion about taking your clothes off, which leads me to think that you took your clothes off with Luke and I really don't want to think about it," Rory babbled.

Lorelai simply grinned widely non-verbally telling Rory that her thoughts on the subject were completely in deed correct.

"You're incorrigible," Rory muttered.

"Indeed I am," Lorelai giggled ruefully.

"Yuck," Rory said sticking out her tongue. She was glad her mother was happy but she didn't want to know the details of her mirth.

"I'm glad you're happy," Rory said after a moment.

"Me too," Lorelai replied. "And how are you? Are you okay now?"

"I'm getting there," Rory replied.

"Promise?" Lorelai asked.

"Promise," Rory affirmed.

* * *

Christopher sauntered into the kitchen while Luke was putting the finishing touches on Rory's cheeseburger. 

"Luke," Christopher said hesitantly.

"Christopher?" Luke said turning on his heel.

"Yeah," he replied inching forward. "I was hoping I could talk to you for minute."

This was the last person Luke expected to be talking to alone. He figured he'd chalk up the imminent conversation with the one he'd had with Jason at the inn weeks ago—awkward and far too long.

"Sure," Luke shrugged. Lorelai was with him now Luke figured the least he could do was be generous to Christopher with a moment or two of his time.

"Uh, I'm sure Lorelai has explained everything that happened between us, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry if I got in the way of anything that was going on between you and Lorelai," Christopher offered.

Luke looked at Christopher. He looked uncomfortable. Luke knew it must have been an odd and difficult thing to say.

"Well what's done is done and Lorelai and I are fine," Luke offered. He didn't feel the need to be charitable with his reply.

"I know," Christopher replied. "And I'm glad that you two are doing well. I know how I would have felt if I were in your position and...well thanks for not trying to kick my ass," Christopher joked.

"You're welcome," Luke deadpanned.

Christopher laughed nervously. He didn't think Luke would actually fight him. He wasn't even confident that Luke could beat him. But the thought that Luke contemplated hitting him made Christopher a little uneasy.

"Well," Christopher started as he moved toward the door. "I just wanted to apologize." He turned and started through the door.

Luke moved hurried toward the door and placed a hand on Christopher's shoulder.

"Hey," Luke said. He extended his hand. "It's okay. We better get used to having each other around huh?"

"Right," Christopher smiled and extended his hand. They shook on it and turned to look at Rory and Lorelai sitting at the table laughing. "I should've been there for them."

"You'll be there now," Luke offered.

Christopher looked at look surprised by his generous response. The exchanged a look of mutual understanding.

"Thanks," Christopher said. "Well I'd better get back. I don't want to miss anymore of Rory's adventures."

"Tell her not to start the Bastille Day story until I bring her burger out," Luke said walking back to the stove.

"Can do," Christopher said as he walked back to the table.

* * *

Two hours later Rory was exhausted from the jet lag. She had tried to stay up and regale them all with Emily in Europe stories, but she was slowly falling asleep. Christopher had a long drive ahead of him and he stood up to go. 

Rory forced herself to stand and hug her dad goodbye.

"See ya kid," Christopher said.

"Thanks for coming Dad," Rory mumbled half sleeping.

"Anytime," Christopher smiled. He lowered his lips to her ear and said quietly, "Are you gonna be okay?"

Rory knew what he was asking and she nodded her head forcefully, yet sleepily. "I'm good," she replied.

"Good," Christopher said lightly kissing the top of her head.

"Lore," Christopher said when Rory stepped aside. "Thanks for letting me intrude."

"Well it's what you do best," Lorelai replied giving him her wickedest grin, which he knew was for show.

Lorelai approached him slowly and gave him a tentative hug goodbye. Luke stood by and watched without jealousy or attitude. He knew Lorelai wanted to be with him and that was all he needed.

"Luke," Christopher said extending his hand again. "You take care of our girls."

"You can count on it," Luke replied shaking Christopher's hand.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was unaware of the conversation Luke and Christopher had in the kitchen and therefore this gesture both confused and pleased her.

"Drive safe," Luke said as Christopher headed toward the door.

"Thanks," Christopher replied.

The door shut and then there were three. Lorelai looked down and saw Rory had fallen asleep at the table.

"Poor thing," Lorelai said. "The walk home is gonna kill her."

"I can drive you," Luke offered. "Or she could stay in my apartment. Jess's bed is still there."

"I'll think I'll take you up on the ride home. It might be a little disconcerting to wake up with jet lag in your apartment, but before we go let me do this," Lorelai said pulling him closer to her and taking his face in her hands. She pulled him close and planted her lips gently on his. Luke pulled her body closer to his so there wasn't a speck of light between them. Lorelai deepened the kiss and Luke responded hungrily.

Lorelai finally pulled back and Luke attempted to pull her back to him. "Wait, wait," Lorelai giggled softly.

"That was a thank you for being nice to Christopher."

"Well, he's Rory's Dad and he cares about both of you so who am I to judge him?" Luke replied quickly pulling her closer to him again. "But, just to be fair, I don't think I was sufficiently thanked," he added with a gleam in his eye.

Lorelai leaned in quickly and gave him a fast peak on the lips. "Thanks," she said quickly teasing him.

"You're a cold woman. I think my hands have frost bite," Luke laughed letting her squirm from his grasp.

"I'll have to warm you up later," she said slyly.

"Too late," Luke replied.

"Dirty!" Lorelai whispered emphatically. She crossed over to the table where Rory had fallen asleep and tried to wake her.

Luke just chuckled at her and walked over to where she was standing. He shoved his hand in his pocket and handed her his keys.

"You get the door, I'll carry her," he said as he swiftly picked Rory up and walked her out to the truck. She was so tired that she didn't wake. Lorelai opened the door to the truck while Luke placed her gently in the car.

"You did that really well," Lorelai said.

"Thanks," Luke said. He held onto the door and waited for Lorelai to hop into the car, but she was looking at the sky.

"Look," she said excitedly pointing to the heavens.

Luke glanced up just in time to see a shooting star fly over their heads.

"Make a wish," Lorelai said staring at the stars.

"I already got mine," Luke replied looking at Lorelai and not at the sky.

Lorelai gently wrapped her arms around Luke's neck and kissed him softly as they stood under the stars. They kissed under the blanket of stars and deep down inside they knew everything was just as it should be.

The End.


End file.
